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in  2011  witii  funding  from 

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CONNECTICUT 


Y\o. 


Agricultural  Experiment  Station 


NEW  HAVEN,  CONN. 


BULLETIN  180,  JANUARY,  1914. 


Studies  on  the  Tobacco  Crop 
OF  Connecticut. 

By  E.  H.  JENKINS. 


"  Bjr  Hercules!  I  do  hold  it  and  will  affirm  it, 
before  any  prince  in  Europe,  to  be  tbe  most  sovereign 
and  precious  weed  that  ever  the  earth  tendered  to 
the  use  of  man." 

"By  Gad's  me"!  rejoins  Cob,  "I  mar'l  what 
pleasure  or  felicity  they  have  in  taking  this  roguish 
tobacco.  It  is  good  for  nothing  but  to  choke  a  man 
and  fill  him  full  of  smoke  and  embers." 

Ben  Jonson's  Every  Man  in  his  Humour,  1598. 


The  Bulletins  of  this  Station  are  mailed  free  to  citizens  of  Connecticut 
who  apply  for    them,    and    to    others  as  far  as  the  editions  permit. 


V    o 


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CONNECTICUT  AGRICULTURAL  EXPERIMENT  STATION. 


OFFICERS    AND   STAFF. 


BOARD  OF  CONTROL. 

His  Excellency,  Simeon  E.  Baldwin,  ex-officio.  President. 

Prof.  H.  W.  Conn,  Vice  President MIddletown 

Oeorge  A.  Hopson,  Secretary Wallingford 

E.  H.  Jenkins,  Director  and  Treasurer New  Haven 

Joseph  W.  Alsop  Avon 

Wilson  H.  Lee  Orange 

Frank  H.  Stadtmueller  Elmwood 

James  H.  Webb  Hamden 


Administration.  E.  H.  Jenkins.  Ph.D.,  Director  and  Treasurer. 

Miss  V.  E.  Cole,  Librarian  and  Stenographer. 
Miss  L.  M.  Brautlecht,  Bookkeeper  and  Stenographer. 
William  Veitch,  In  charge  of  Buildings  and  Grounds. 

Chemistry. 

Analytical  Laboratory.  John  Phillips  Street,  M.S.,  Chemist  in  Charge. 
E.  Monroe  Bailey,  Ph.D.,  C.  B.  Morison,  B.S., 
C.  E.  Shepard,  G.  L.  Davis,  Assistants, 
Hugo  Lange,  Laboratory  Helper, 
V.  L.  Churchill,  Sampling  Agent, 
Miss  E.   B.  Whittlesey,  Stenographer. 


Proteid  Research. 


T.  B.  Osborne,  Ph.D.,  Chemist  in  Charge. 
Miss  E.  L.  Ferry,  M.S.,  Assistant, 


Botany. 


G.  P.   Clinton,  S.D.,  Botanist. 

E.  M.   Stoddard,  B.S.,  Assistant, 

Miss  M.  H.  Jagg-er,  Seed  Analyst. 

Miss  E.  B.  Whittlesey,  Herbarium  Assistant. 


Entomology. 


W.  E.  Britton,  Ph.D.,  E}it07>iologist ;    State  Entomologist. 
B.  H.  Walden,  B.Agr.,  First  Assistant, 
Q.  S.  Lowry,  B.S.,  I.  W.  Davis,  B.S.,  Assistants. 
Miss  F.  M.  Valentine,  Stenographer, 


Forestry. 


Walter  O.  Filley,  Forester;  also  State 

Forester  and  State  Forest  Fire   Warden. 
A.  E.  Moss,  M.F.,  Assistant  Station  Forester. 
Miss  E.  L.  Avery,  Stenographer. 


Plant  Breeding. 


H.  K.  Hayes,  M.S.,  Plant  Breeder. 
C.  D.  Hubbell,  Assistant. 


CONTENTS. 

PAGE 

Station,  OflScers  and  Stafif   1 

Quantity  of  Nitrogen  and  Mineral  Elements  in  the  Tobacco  Crop. .     4 

The   Leaves    4 

The   Stalks    8 

Total       10 

Relation  Between  the  Composition  of  Ash  and  the  burning 

Quality  10 

Proximate  Composition  of  the  Leaf  Before  and  After  Fermentation  11 

Grain  of  Tobacco  14 

Area  of  Leaf  Surface  on  an  Acre  of  Tobacco 16 

Seed  Production  of  Tobacco 16 

Management  of  Seed  Beds   16 

Poquonock  Fertilizer  Experiments  18 

Method       18 

Soil      19 

Fertilizers      19 

Soil    Moisture    20 

Temperature  of  Soil  and  Air  20 

Results      21 

Loss  of  Weight  in  Fermentation    21 

Weight  of  Leaves   21 

Fire-Holding  Capacitj-  21 

Percentage  of  Wrappers    22 

Yield     22 

Loss  in  Sorting  22 

Comparative  Value  of  Leaf  from  Several  Plots  22 

Comparisons  of  Fertilizers   23-30 

Nitrate  of  Soda,  23.  Cotton  Seed  Meal,  24.  Castor 
Pomace,  24.  Linseed  Meal,  24.  Fish  Scrap,  24. 
Stable  Manure,  25.  Tobacco  Stems,  25.  Various 
Forms  of  Potash,  26.  Use  of  Large  Amounts  of 
Phosphates,  28. 

Shaded  Tobacco    30 

Curing  with  Artificial  Heat   33 

Fermentation  of  Tobacco  in  Case   35 

Fermentation  of  Tobacco  in  Bulk  36 

Bibliography  of  Publications  on  Wrapper  Leal  Tobacco    58 

Tobacco   Breeding    38 

Insects  which  Injure  Tobacco   41 

Fungous  Diseases  of  Tobacco   46 

Bibliography  of  Publications  on  Wrapper  Leaf  Tobacco  58 


STUDIES  ON  THE  TOBACCO  CROP 
OF  CONNECTICUT 


By  E,  H.  Jenkins. 


Wrapper  leaf  tobacco,  the  only  'type  of  leaf  raised  in  this 
state,  is  our  largest  cash  crop.  The  government  crop  report 
for  1912  shows  that  tobacco  was  grown  on  17,500  acres  in 
Connecticut,  that  the  yield  was  over  twenty-nine  million  seven 
hundred  and  fifty  thousand  pounds  and  that  the  value  on  the 
farm  was  more  than  seven  million  one  hundred  thousand  dol- 
lars, exceeding  that  of  all  cereals  grown  in  Connecticut,  of  all 
the  timothy  and  clover,  and  more  than  half  as  large  as  that  of 
all  the  forage  crops. 

This  Station  has  been  called  upon  to  help  growers  in  such 
ways  as  it  could  to  improve  the  quality,  increase  the  quantity 
and  decrease  the  cost  of  growing  the  crop.  The  results  of  this 
work  have  been  printed  from  time  to  time  during  the  last 
twenty  years,  but  the  demand  from  within  and  without  the 
state  has  exhausted  the  supply  of  bulletins  and  reports  on  the 
subject. 

,  As  the  call  for  them  still  continues,  the  following  summary 
of  our  results  has  been  prepared,  with  references  to  our  orig- 
inal reports  which  can  be  found  in  libraries  if  more  detailed 
study  of  any  topic  is  desired  and  also  to  the  valuable  work 
which  has  been  done  elsewhere  on  tobacco  of  the  cigar- 
wrapper  type  but  which  cannot  be  adequately  described  within 
the  limits  alloted  to  this  bulletin.  This  bulletin  is  in  no  way  a 
guide  to  tobacco  growing  or  a  treatise  on  the  whole  subject 
but  simply  brings  together  in  small  compass  the  general  results 


4  .  Connecticut  Experiment  Station  Bulletin  180. 

of  such  work  as  this  Station  has  done  in  the  interest  of  tobacco 
growers  and  handlers. 

The  various  subjects  follow  each  other,  often  with  no  close 
connection,  for  they  describe  single  pieces  of  work  undertaken 
as  necessity  required  or  opportunity  offered  and  are  not  the 
result  of  any  comprehensive  plan  for  a  systematic  study  of  the 
whole  subject  of  tobacco  culture. 

The  Quantity  of  Nitrogen  and  of  Certain  Mineral 
Constituents  in  an  Average  Tobacco  Crop. 

1.  The  leaves.  From  twelve  analyses  of  tobacco  leaf  grown 
in  this  state  (41)*  was  calculated  the  number  of  pounds  of 
mineral  matter  and  nitrogen  in  a  crop  of  1800  pounds  of  leaf 
tobacco  with  30  per  cent,  pi  moisture.  This  average  appears 
in  the  fourteenth  column  of  Table  II. 

Analyses  of  the  following  samples  made  in  1884  (42)  are 
given  in   Table  I. 

No.  1.  Fermented  Havana  from  Cuba,  good  quality, 
burns  white.  No.  2.  Fermented  Sumatra,  good  bum,  other- 
wise poor  quality.  No.  3.  Fermented  Wisconsin  Havana, 
fair  quality,  burns  white  and  free.  No.  4.  Fermented  Con- 
necticut seed  leaf,  good  quality,  good  bum,  raised  on  new 
land  with  yard  manure,  no  commercial  fertilizer.  No.  5. 
Unfermented  Connecticut  Havana,  very  good  quality. 
Land  dressed  with  cotton  hull  ashes,  one  ton  cotton  seed  meal , 
300  pounds  each  of  lime  and  land  plaster.  No.  6.  Un- 
fermented Connecticut  Havana,  very  good  quality.  Land 
dressed  with  400  pounds  bone,  500  pounds  double  sulphate 
of  potash,  1  ton  cotton  seed  meal  and  300  lbs.  each  of  lime  and 
land  plaster.  No.  7.  Unfermented  Connecticut  Havana. 
Fair  quality,  except  coals  and  does  not  burn  well.  Raised  on 
good  manure.  No.  8.  Fermented  Connecticut  Ha\'ana.  Poor 
quality,  crusts  badly  and  does  not  bum  well.  Raised  on 
good  loamy  land  with  slaughter  house  manure  worked  over  by 
pigs. 


*  Numbers  refer  to  the  references  given  on  page  59  et  seq. 


The  Composition  of  Tobacco  Leaf. 


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'6  Connecticut  Experiment  Station  Bulletin  180. 

The  Station  also  analyzed  the  ash  of  the  long  wrapper  lea\es 
harvested  from  a  number  of  the  plots  in  its  fertilizer  exper- 
iment. (53).  The  results  of  these  analyses  have  been  calcula- 
ted to  a  yield  of  1800  pounds  of  pole-cured  tobacco  per  acre 
with  30  per  cent,  of  moisture  and  are  given  in  Table  11. 

While  the  above  figures  refer  to  long  wrappers  alone,  we 
shall  not  be  far  wrong  probably  in  assuming  that  they  apply 
approximately  to  the  whole  crop.  The  pure  ash  of  short 
wrappers  is  quite  like  that  of  th^  long  wrappers  in  its  compo- 
sition and  the  two  make  the  larger  part  of  the  crop. 

The  last  column  of  the  table  gives  the  average  amount  of 
the  ingredients  named,  being  the  average  of  25  analyses.  This 
assumes  a  water-content  of  30  per  cent,  in  cured  leaves  as 
taken  down  from  the  poles  and  represents  very  high  "case". 
If  the  crop  weighed  1800  pounds  with  only  twenty  per  cent,  of 
moisture,  the  figures  would  give  only  seven-eighths  of  the  true 
content  of  nitrogen  and  mineral  matter. 

About  half  of  the  analyses  included  in  the  compilation  were 
made  years  ago  when  commercial  fertilizers  were  not  so  freely 
used  on  tobacco  land  as  at  present.  It  is  probable  therefore 
that  these  figures  represent  rather  less  than  the  amount  con- 
tained in  the  leaves  of  a  heavily  fertilized  crop  at  the  present 
time. 

Of  course  the  amount  of  the  different  mineral  matters  in 
the  leaf  is  affected  by  the  amount  and  kind  of  plant  food  used 
in  the  fertilizer.  This  is  strikingly  shown  in  the  analyses  of  leaf 
from  plots,  each  of  which  for  five  years  had  been  heavily  fer- 
tilized with  the  same  particular  mixture  of  chemicals  but  each 
particular  mixture  different  from  any  other.  The  general  re- 
sults are  given  as  follows:  (47). 

"The  fertilizers  used  have  had  striking  effects  on  the  com- 
position of  the  ash. 

a.  The  largest  percentage  of  potash  was  in  tobacco  to 
which  most  fertilizer-potash  had  been  applied.  The  percent- 
age of  potash  is  least  in  the  ash  of  tobacco  from  the  plots 
dressed  with  potash  in  form  of  sulphate.  The  percentage  of 
potash  in  the  ash  of  tobacco  from  those  plots  is  also  less  than 


The  Composition  of  Tobacco  Leap. 


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8  Connecticut  Experiment  Station  Bulletin  180. 

it  is  in  the  ash  of  tobacco  from  plots  which  are  dressed  with  the 
same,  or  even  half  the  quantity  of  fertilizer-potash  in  form 
of  carbonate. 

b.  The  tobacco  dressed  with  high-grade  sulphate  of  potash 
the  ash  of  which  contained  a  smaller  per  cent,  of  potash 
than  any  other  lot,  contains  on  the  other  hand  the  highest  per 
cent,  of  lime,  and  the  tobacco  dressed  with  the  double  sulphalo 
of  potash  and  magnesia  also  contains  a  relatively  high  per  cent. 
of  lime. 

c.  In  general  the  tobaccos  which  have  most  lime  have  least 
magnesia,  and  vice  versa.  Comparatively  large  percentages  of 
magnesia  are  found  in  the  lots  of  tobacco  which  were  raised 
on  plots  dressed  with  fertilizers  containing  much  magnesia.  In 
the  short  wrappers  of  a  single  plot,  P,  the  percentage  of  mag- 
nesia was  larger  than  that  of  lime.  The  quality  of  the  leaf  has 
not  been  damaged  in  previous  years  by  these  large  quantities  of 
magnesia.  Lots  P,  Y,  F  and  D,  which  have  large  percentage 
amounts  of  magnesia,  have  heretofore  been  among  the  best 
tobaccps  as  regards  quality  of  leaf. 

d.  The  percentage  of  sulphuric  acid  in  the  leaf  is  very 
much  larger  when  sulphates  are  used  in  the  fertilizer.  It  is 
believed  that  these  large  amounts  of  sulphuric  acid  have  im- 
paired the  burning  quality  of  the  leaf,  and  in  this  exper- 
iment the  "burn"  of  tobacco  from  the  plot  which  was  dressed 
with  high-grade  sulphate,  has  been  very  unsatisfactory. 

e.  The  ash  of  tobacco  from  the  plot  dressed  with  stable 
manure  contains  five  times  as  much  chlorine  as  the  ash  from 
any  other  lot  in  the  series." 

2.  The  Stalks.  In  Table  III,  I  gives  the  number  of 
pounds  of  the  several  ingredients  from  an  acre  of  stalks,  barn- 
cured,  with  67  per  cent,  of  water  in  them  and  weighing  about 
3000  pounds.  (Kept.  1887  p.  83).  II  gives  the  number  of 
pounds  of  these  same  ingredients  from  an  acre  of  stalks,  barn- 
cured,  containing  45.90  per  cent,  of  water  and  estimated  to 
weight  4000  pounds  per  acre.  (Rept  1884  p.  105).  Ill  gives 
the  number  of  pounds  of  the  same  ingredients  (calculated 
from  the  analysis  and  weight  of  only  four  stalks)  which  gave 
3438  pounds  per  acre  with  61.62  per  cent,  of  water.  (50). 


The  Composition  of  Tobacco  Stalks. 


TABLE  III. 

Pounds  of  Nitrogen  and  Mineral  Matter  in  the  Stalks 
FROM  an  Acre  of  Tobacco. 


I 

II 

III 

Average  of 
I  and  III 

Nitrogen 

Potash  

Soda 

Lime 

Magnesia 

Phosphoric  Acid   . 
Sulphuric  Acid  .  .    . 
Chlorine 

20.6 
41.0 
0.5 
7.8 
4.4 
5.4 
4.7 
10.3 

74.1 
105.2 
0.8 
20.4 
11.2 
14.4 
14.8 
21.6 

41.8 
54.7 
0.9 
14  7 
6.9 
7.9 
7.4 
6.8 

31.2 
47.8 
0.7 
11.2 
5.7 
6.7 
6.0 
8.6 

The  figures  given  in  II  seem  to  the  writer  quite  too  large. 
The  estimated  weight  of  stalks  per  acre,  4000  pounds,  is  larger 
than  other  estimates  and  weighings  and  the  percentage  of 
water  found  in  them  very  much  smaller.  The  writer  believes 
that  an  average  of  analyses  I  and  III  gives  a  more  accurate 
idea  of  the  composition  than  would  be  given  by  the  average  of 
the  three  analyses. 

"The  stalks  on  an  acre  of  tobacco,  containing  about  8000 
plants  weigh  at  cutting  about  9500  pounds.  Of  this,  about 
83(X)  pounds  or  4  1-7  tons  are  water  which  has  to  be  handled, 
hauled  to  the  barn  and  hung  on  the  poles.  About  6200  pounds, 
3  1-10  tons  of  water,  are  evaporated  in  curing  and  the  rest,  a 
little  over  a  ton  of  water,  is  taken  down  in  the  cured  stalks." 

3.  Stalks  and  Leaves  Together.  The  figures  cited  above 
taken  together,  give  a  general  idea  of  the  number  of  pounds 
of  plant  food  yearly  removed  from  an  acre  by  the  tobacco  crop. 
On  heavily  dressed  tobacco  land  the  amounts  of  nitrogen  and 
mineral  matters  in  the  crop  will  no  doubt  be  considerably 
larger.  As  previously  stated,  many  of  the  analyses  included 
in  this  average  were  made  some  time  ago,  when  commercial 
fertilizers  were  not  so  freely  used  on  tobacco  land  as  they 
now  are  and  represent  less  fairly  the  present  conditions.  It 
must  be  remembered  that  such  an  average  only  gives  an  ap- 
proximate statement. 


10 


Connecticut  Experiment  Station  Bulletin  180. 


TABLE  IV. 

Pounds  of  Nitrogen  and  Mineral  Matter  in  Stalks  and 

Leaves  from  an  Acre  of  Tobacco. 


Nitrogen  .... 

Potash 

Soda 

Lime       .... 

Magnesia    .    .   . 
Phosphoric  Acid 
Sulphuric  Acid  . 
Chlorine  .... 


In  the  Leaf. 


48.9 
85.1 

2.9 
68.8 
19.3 

7.3 
13.9 
11.7 


In  the  Stalk. 


31.2 
47.8 
0.7 
11.2 
5.7 
6.7 
6.0 
8.6 


Total. 


80.1 
132.9 
3.6 
80.0 
25.0 
14.0 
19.9 
20.3 


The  Relations  between  the  Composition  of  the  Ash 
AND  THE  Burning  Quality  of  the  Leaf. 

In  connection  with  the  analyses  given  on  page  5,  which 
were  made  to  study  the  relation  between  the  composition  of 
the  ash  and  the  burn  of  the  leaf,  the  matter  is  summed  up  by 
Prof.  Johnson  as  follows : 

"It  is  most  probable  that  'burning  quality'  is  the  result  of  the 
coincidence  of  several  conditions.  The  abundance  of  cellulose 
(woody  tisue)  the  abundance  of  organic  potash  salts  in  the  leaf 
the  abundance  of  sulphates*  are  evidently  favorable  for  easy 
burning.  On  the  other  hand,  sugar,  gum  (pectic  acid)  and 
albuminous  matters  are  difficult  of  combustion.  Mineral  salts 
which  fuse  at  the  burning  temperature,  such  as  chlor- 
ides and  phosphates  of  potassium  and  sodium,  hinder  free 
burning.  Fermentation  which  reduces  the  quantity  of  sugar 
and  albuminous  matters,  and  perhaps  also  that  of  organic  acids, 
and  which  may  influence  the  distribution  of  the  soluble  salts, 
acts  on  the  whole,  to  improve  the  burning  quality. 

"It  would  therefore  seem  evident  that  burning  quality  is  good 
or  bad  according  to  the  preponderance  of  favorable  or  unfa- 
vorable factors,  and  it  is  not  always  related  in  a  simple  man- 
ner to  the  composition  of  the  ash. 


*  This  is  not  in  agreement  with  the  results  of  experiments  cited  on 
page  26.  Potash  in  the  fonn  of  sulphates,  however,  has  been  used 
extensively  without  injurious  effect  on  the  burn  of  the  leaf. 


Composition  and  Burning  Quality. 


11 


"It  would  be  going  too  far  to  assert  that  the  use  of  chlorides 
(muriates),  or  of  fish  or  slaughter-house  fertilizers  must  invar- 
iably produce  tobacco  of  inferior  quality.  Nessler  found  in 
his  field  trials  that  application  of  salt  generally  gave  badly- 
burning  tobacco.  In  1862,  however,  tobacco  from  the  plot 
manured  with  salt,  though  containing  little  carbonate  of  potash 
in  the  ash,  burned  scarcely  less  well  than  the  tobacco  from 
adjoining  plots,  to  which  carbonate  of  potash,  sulphate  of 
potash  and  stable  manure  had  been  applied. 

"The  tobacco-grower  will,  however,  do  well  to  avoid  the  use 
of  the  above  named  fertilizers,  which  experience  in  all  coun- 
tries agrees  in  indicating  to  be  likely,  as  a  rule,  to  injure  the 
burning  quality  of  the  leaf."* 

The  Proximate  Composition  of  the  Leaf  before 
AND  after  Fermentation. 

From  the  upper  leaves,  short  seconds  and  first  wrappers  of 
a  tobacco  crop,  were  selected  two  lots  each,  apparently  in  all 
respects  alike.  One  lot  of  each  was  immediately  analysed 
and  the  other  was  cased  down  with  other  tobacco  and  ferment- 
ed in  the  usual  way  and  then  analysed.  (49) 
The  results  and  a  discussion  of  them  follow : 
The  condition  of  the  tobacco  when  analyzed  is  shown  in 
the  following  table : 


TABLE  V. 


A 
Upper 
Leaves. 

B 

Short 

Seconds. 

C 

First 
Wrappers. 

Pi.  4> 

a 

■d 

1     0) 

s 

175 

625 

127 

21.1 

■d 

a 

Number  of  leaves  in  sample  .    .    . 
Weight  of  the  leaves  (grams)  .    .    . 
Number  of  leaves  in  one  pound .  . 
Per  cent,  of  water  in  the  leaves.  . 

75 

505 

67 

23.5 

75 

456 

74 

23.4 

175 

713 

111 

27.4 

60 

401 

68 

27.5 

60 

365 

74 

24.9 

*  See  however  remarks  on  page  26. 


12  Connecticut  Experiment  Station  Bulletin  180. 

Tlie  chemical  analyses  of  the  leaves  are  given  in  detail  below: 


TABLE  VI. 
Analyses  of  Fermented  and  Unfermented  Leaves. 


Water 

Ash*    ...  ... 

N  cotine 

Nitric  Acid  (N2O5) . 
Ammonia  (NHg)  .  .    • 
Other  Nitrogenous  matterst 

Fiber  

Starch  

Other  Nitrogen-free  Extract 
Ether  Extract 


1         Upper 
Leaves. 

B 

Short 
Seconds. 

"d 

'"a 
S 

il.'d 

■6 

E 

21.10  1 

23.50 

23.40 

27.40 

14.89 

15.27 

22.85 

25.25: 

2.50 

1.79 

.77 

.50 

1.89 

1.97 

'     2.39 

2.821 

.67 

.71 

.16 

.16 

12.19 

13.31 

6.69 

6.81  ! 

7.90 

8.78 

7.89 

8.95 

3.20 

3.36 

2.62 

3.01 

29.39 

27.99 

26.28 

28.36 

3.87 

3.42 

2.95 

3.04 

100.00 

100.00 

100.00 

100.00 

c 

First 
Wrappers. 


27.50 
15.84 

1.26 

2.59 

.33; 

11.311 

9.92! 

2.89 
25.52 

2.84 


100.00 


24.90 
16.22 

1.14 

2.35 

.47 

11.62 

10.42 

3.08' 
26.88 

2.92 


100.00 


From  the  data  obtained  have  been  calculated  the  number  of 
pounds  of  each  ingredient  of  the  leaves  in  one  thousand  pounds 
of  the  unsweated  tobacco,  and  also  how  many  pounds  of  each 
ingredient  were  left  after  fermentation.  The  differences 
should  represent  the  losses  incurred  during  the  process. 

Total  Loss  by  Fermentation.  The  upper  leaves,  short 
seconds  and  first  wrappers  lost  respectively,  by  fermentation, 
9.7,  12.3  and  9.1  per  cent,  of  their  total  weight. 

While  three-fourths  of  the  loss  in  the  case  of  the  short  sec- 
onds, consisted  of  water,  in  the  case  of  the  upper  leaves  almost 
three-fourths  of  the  loss  was  of  Avy  matter.  The  first  wrap- 
pers lost  a  little  less  dry  matter  than  water. 


*  Free  from  carbonic  acid  and  carbon. 

t  Nitrogen  other  than  that  of   nicotine,   nitric  acid  and  amnionia, 
multiplied  by  S% . 


Composition   Affected   by    Fermentation. 


13 


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14  Connecticut  Experiment  Station  Bulletin  180. 

Ingredients  of  the  Leaf  Affected  by  Fermentation.  The 
quantities  of  nitric  acid,  ammonia,  fiber  and  starch  contained 
in  the  leaves  are  about  the  same  after  fermentation  as  before. 

It  will  be  noticed  that  there  is  an  apparent  loss  of  ash  or  min- 
eral matter  in  each  case.  This  cannot  possibly  be  due  to 
changes  induced  by  fermentation  but  can  only  be  explained  by 
errors  in  weighing  or  analysis  against  which  every  precaution 
was  exercised,  or  most  probably  by  the  handling  of  the  leaf 
by  the  persons  who  cased  it  down.  Tobacco  is  usually  vigor- 
ously shaken  as  it  is  cased  to  make  the  leaves  smooth,  and  in 
this  way  adhering  sand  may  be  easily  lost. 

Aside  from  this,  the  chief  loss  of  dr}'^  matter  has  been  in 
nicotine,  albuminoids  and  amide  bodies,  nitrogen-free  extract 
and,  to  a  much  less  extent,  ether  extract.  Thus  the  upper 
leaves  lost  more  than  a  third  of  their  nicotine,  the  short  seconds 
somewhat  less  than  half  and  the  first  wrappers  less  than  one- 
sixth  of  it.  The  upper  leaves,  in  which  fermentation  was 
evidently  the  most  active,  lost  more  than  one-seventh  of  their 
nitrogen-free  extract  and  one-fifth  of  their  ether  extract. 

The  first  wrappers  claim  special  notice  as  they  make  up  a 
large  part  and  the  most  valuable  part  of  any  good  crop.  The 
fermentation  in  this  case  destroyed  only  5.8  per  cent,  of  their 
dry  matter.  They  lost  but  little  nicotine,  and  aside  from  the 
ash  the  chief  losses  were  of  nitrogenous  matters  other  than 
nicotine  and  of  nitrogen-free  extract  which  here  includes  the 
"gum"  of  tobacco. 

Further  experiments  made  on  a  much  larger  scale  are  de- 
sirable to  accurately  ascertain  the  nature  of  the  fermentation 
and  the  possibility  of  regulating  it  to  suit  the  special  require- 
ments of  the  leaf. 


The  "Grain"  of  Tobacco. 

The  minute  pimples  on  the  surface  of  cured  tobacco 
which  give  it  a  somewhat  granular  appearance  and  roughish 
feeling,  are  the  "grain".  It  is  always  looked  for  by  growers 
and  buyers  as  a  sign  of  good  quality. 


The  Grain  of  Tobacco. 


15 


Explanation  of  Figure  2 

Fig.  1  Cross-section  of  fresh  Tobacco-leaf  highly  magnified :  c, 
cuticle;  e,  upper  epidermis;  p,  palisade  layer  with  chlorophyll  grains; 
sp,  spongy  parenchyma  with  two  crystals  of  oxalate  of  lime;  ee,  lower 
epidermis;  s,  stomata;  h,  hairs. 

Fig.  2.  Cross-section  of  cured  Tobacco-leaf,  showing  the  masses 
of  needle-like  crystals  of  calcium  oxalate  which  cause  the  "grain". 
The  contents  of  the  cells  are  disintegrated  and  the  leaf  is  much  reduced 
in  thickness.  A  vascular  bundle  densely  charged  with  a  crystalline 
deposit  traverses  the  median  line  of  the  section.  Magnified  105  diam- 
eters. 


16  Connecticut  Experiment  Station  Bulletin  180. 

Dr.  Sturgis'  observations  (59)  show  that  it  is  caused  by- 
deposits  of  crystals  of  calcium  oxalate  within  the  leaf  tissue 
which  are  so  large  in  places  as  to  push  out  the  epidermis  or 
skin  of  the  leaf,  making  these  little  pimples.  The  microscopic 
appearance  of  these  crystals  is  shown  in  the  plate.  Whether 
the  crystals  are  there  in  green  leaf  and  only  appear  after 
it  shrinks  in  curing,  or  whether  the  crystals  are  formed  during 
the  cure  was  not  determined.  Nor  do  we  know  the  conditions 
which  favor  this  formation.  When  the  leaf  bums  the  oxalate 
readily  changes  to  carbonate  and  probably  helps  to  produce 
a  perfect  burn  of  the  organic  matters  in  contact  with  it. 

The  Area  of  Leaf  Surface  on  an  Acre  of  Tobacco, 
Topped  and  Ready  to  Harvest. 

A  computation  made  from  measurements  of  a  single  plant 
gave  the  area  of  the  leaves  of  7700  plants  of  Connecticut 
Havana  on  an  acre  of  land  as  four  and  eight-tenths  acres. 
(Rept  1899.     Page  297). 

Seed  Production  of  Tobacco. 

A  single  normal  plant  of  Havana  tobacco  yielded  42  pods. 
The  average  number  of  seeds  per  pod,  calculated  from  the 
total  weight  of  the  seeds  of  the  plant  and  the  weight  of  1,000 
seeds  was  98,910.  Allowing  a  vitality  of  75  per  cent.,  the 
seeds  from  one  plant  could  set  about  7  acres  of  tobacco.  The 
common  saying  that  one  plant  yields  seed  enough  for  an  acre 
is  undoubtedly  true  even  with  a  large  allowance  for  waste  of 
seedlings. 

Management  of  Seed  Beds. 

This  has  been  fully  discussed  in  Bulletin  166,  copies  of 
which  are  available  for  distribution. 

Fertilisers.  The  soil  of  the  bed  should  be  well  fertilized 
preferably  in  the  fall  if  horse  manure  is  used,  but  with  com- 
mercial fertilizers  in  the  spring.  The  complete  or  partial  fail- 
ure of  beds  is  more  often  caused  by  too  thick  seeding  and  want 


Management  of  Seed  Beds. 


17 


of  skill  or  care  in  watering  and  particularly  in  airing  the  beds, 
than  by  over- fertilizing  or  under-fertilizing  the  soil.  If  the 
plants  do  not  grow  as  they  should,  seek  the  cause  in  these 
things  and  in  diseases  which  result  from  insufficient  ventila- 
tion before  dosing  the  bed  with  fertilizers. 

Sterilizing.     This  will  be  described  in  brief  under  root  rot. 

Seed  Separation.  This  is  accomplished  by  either  winnowing 
in  the  open  or  by  various  machines  made  for  the  purpose.  The 
matter  is  discussed  in  (77). 

The  relative  weights  of  "light  "  and  "heavy"  seed  in  two 
tests  were  as  follows. 

Relative  Weights  of  Heavy  and  Light  Tobacco  Seed. 


Variety. 

Character  of  Seed. 

Weight  in 
Grams  per 
5000  Seed. 

Per  Cent 

of  total 

byweight. 

Havana  Seed  .  .    . 

Conn.  Shade  Cuban 
11           <i            i( 

Seed  from  single  plant-Light 
"         "         "         "     -Heavy 

Seed  from  single  plant-Light 
"         "         "         "     -Heavy 

.241 
.462 
.275 
.480 

26.3 
73.7 
32.7 
67.3 

Rate  of  Seeding.  The  practice  of  good  growers  varies  from 
one  tablespoonful  (or  one-half  ounce)  to  150  square  feet  to 
the  same  quantity  for  500  square  feet.  An  ounce  contains 
about  300,000  seeds  or  perhaps  225,000  which  will  sprout 
and  grow.  An  ounce  of  dry  seed  should  sow  900  square  feet 
and  give  not  more  than  two  plants  to  one  square  inch. 

Sprouted  or  Dry  Seed.  For  the  reasons  fully  given  in 
Bulletin  166,  we  recommend  the  sowing  of  dry  seed  rather 
than  of  seed  which  has  been  sprouted  previously. 

Top  Dressing  the  beds  while  the  plants  are  growing,  follow- 
■ed  by  watering  to  remove  all  fertilizer  from  the  leaves  of  the 
plants  is  not  an  uncommon  practice  but  should  be  unnecessary 
in  ordinary  seasons  and  with  proper  preliminary  treatment 
of  the  soil.  Tobacco  water,  a  decoction  of  the  stems,  should 
never  be  put  on  the  beds.     Dr.  Clinton  of  this  Station  has 


18  Connecticut  Experiment  Station  Bulletin  180. 

shown  that  "calico"  is  carried  in  the  stems  of  leaves  infected 
with  it  and  that  tobacco  water  prepared  from  such  stems  may 
easily  infect  plants  watered  with  it.  He  has  no  evidence  to 
show  that  this  infection  passes  from  stems  which  are  plowed 
into  the  soil  to  the  young  plants.  Infection  of  the  plants  by 
the  use  of  tobacco  water  has  been  abundantly  proved. 

Ventilation*of  the  Beds.  Proper  airing  of  the  beds  is  essen- 
tial to  protect  the  seedlings  from  "  damping  off"  and  other 
fungous  diseases.  It  is  an  art  which  cannot  be  taught  except 
by  experience  with  the  bed  itself.  When  the  air  of  the  bed 
is  nearly  saturated  and  warm,  trouble  is  at  hand,  just  as  when 
the  air  of  the  barn  full  of  curing  tobacco  gets  into  the  same 
state,  and  the  remedy  is  the  same  in  both  cases,  viz.,  circu- 
lation of  air  to  carry  off  the  moisture,  even  if  this  causes  a 
loss  of  heat  from  the  soil,  the  bed,  or  the  barn. 

The  Poquonock  Fertilizer  Experiments. 

These  were  made  in  cooperation  with  a  joint  stock  company 
chiefly  of  tobacco  growers,  called  the  Connecticut  Tobacco 
Experiment  Company.  The  object  was  to  answer  certain 
practical  questions  regarding  tobacco  fertilizers.  Among 
these  were : 

What  is  the  effect  on  quality  and  quantity  of  leaf  of  larger 
applications  than  usual  of  cotton  seed  meal?  What  is  the 
effect  of  castor  pomace  compared  with  that  of  cotton  seed 
meal?  If  heavy  dressings  of  castor  pomace  prove  injurious 
will  the  injury  be  lessened  or  prevented  by  supplying  half  of 
the  nitrogen  in  form  of  nitrate?  What  are  the  comparative 
effects  of  various  forms  of  potash  such  as  cotton  hull  ashes, 
the  two  sulphates  of  potash,  (with  and  without  lime)  carbon- 
ate of  potash  and  nitrate  of  potash,  on  the  yield  and  quality  of 
the  crops? 

Method.  The  amounts  of  fertilizers  were  those  commonly 
used  by  successful  growers.  Each  formula  was  used  yearly 
for  five  years  (in  a  few  cases  for  four  years  only)  on  the  same 
plot  of  one-twentieth  of  an  acre.     The  growing,  curing  and 


PoQUONocK  Fertilizer  Experiments.  19 

sorting  of  the  crops  were  wholly  in  charge  of  a  skillful  and 
experienced  tobacco  grower,  Mr.  John  A.  DuBon.  The  sorted 
leaves  were  so  marked  that  only  the  director  and  the  grower 
could  determine  from  which  plots  they  came.  This  marked 
crop  was  packed  by  a  dealer  in  leaf  tobacco,  L.  B.  Haas  &  Co., 
of  Hartford  during  the  winter  and  fermented  under  the  usual 
conditions.  In  the  following  autumn  the  tobacco,  cured  and 
ready  for  manufacture  was  sampled  and  sealed  by  a  profes- 
sional sampler.  These  guaranteed  samples  were  finally  judged 
by  experts  whose  business  was  largely  the  judgment  of 
wrapper  leaf  and  who  had  no  knowledge  of  the  particular  plots 
represented.  Messrs.  Benjamin  Haas,  William  Westphal, 
Jr.  and  David  Rothschild  served  as  judges.  They  made  notes 
of  the  character  of  the  burn,  ash,  color,  texture,  yield,  size, 
vein,  stem,  and  finally  of  relative  ranks  after  further  careful 
comparison  of  the  samples. 

Soil.  The  soil  of  the  field  is  like  much  of  the  upland  tobacco 
soil  of  the  Conn,  valley  and  may  be  described  as  a  coarse,  open, 
sandy  soil.  It  is  classed  by  the  Bureau  of  Soils  in  the  Survey 
of  the  Conecticut  Valley  as  "Windsor  Sand".     (14). 

There  is  no  further  observation  as  to  the  uniformity  of  the 
soil  on  the  different  plots  than  this.  In  June  1894,  two  weeks 
after  a  rain  fall  of  0.57  inch,  a  moisture  determination  made 
on  each  plot  showed  percentages  ranging  from  11.8  to  6.5  per 
cent.  (Rept.  1894,  p.  277).  These  figures  indicated  that 
one  section  of  the  field  was  more  retentive  of  moisture  than 
the  others,  although  the  land  appeared  to  be  uniform.  In  the 
five  year  period  some  tobacco  of  the  best  quality  and  also  some 
of  the  poorest  quality  grew  on  the  plots  which  in  the  above  test 
showed  the  most  moisture.  The  same  is  also  true  of  plots  on  the 
drier  parts  of  the  field.  The  field  had  not  been  cultivated  or 
fertilized  for  five  or  six  years  and  tobacco  had  never  grown 
there.     It  was  a  "run-out"  field. 

Fertilizers.  The  amounts  of  plant  food  used  in  the  various 
mixtures  made  by  the  Station  were,  105  to  345  lbs.  nitrogen, 
150  to  212  lbs.  phosphoric  acid  and  331  to  368  lbs.  potash. 

The  use  of  the  larger  amounts  of  these  ingredients  might 


20  Connecticut  Experiment  Station  Bulletin  180. 

be  justified  for  a  few  years  on  land  which  had  been  long  neg- 
lected but  their  continued  use  would  be  prodigally  wasteful  for 
the  grower.  No  injury  resulting  from  continued  use  during 
the  five  years  was  noticed. 

Thus  a  favorite  formula  in  the  Conn,  valley  which  gave 
excellent  results  for  five  successive  years  consisted  of  2000 
lbs.  cotton  seed  meal  and  1500  lbs.  cotton  hull  ashes  per  acre 
and  this  supplies  140  lbs.  nitrogen,  165  lbs.  phosphoric  acid  and 
350  lbs.  potash. 

Field  Conditions.  Moisture.  The  plants  were  set  in  the 
field  either  in  late  May  or  early  June,  and  the  crops  were  har- 
vested from  79  to  83  days  after  setting.  The  rainfalls  while 
the  crop  was  on  the  field  in  the  five  years  beginning  with  1892 
were  respectively  16.01,  6.13,  7.16,  9.38  and  11.04  inches,  the 
normal  summer  rainfall  being  about  ten  inches. 

In  1893  and  1894  the  crop  suffered  noticeably,  particularly 
in  1894.  The  effect  of  rainfall  on  crop  production  depends 
on  the  distribution  as  much  as  on  the  amount  .  Light  frequent 
rainfalls  through  the  growing  season  are  much  more  favorable 
than  a  few  heavy  downpours  with  times  of  drought  between 
them.  In  1894  rain  fell  on  17  days  but  was  scanty  in  amount; 
in  1895,  on  23  days,  well  distributed,  in  1896,  on  18  days, 
abundant  in  amount  and  well  distributed.  In  1894  and  1895 
the  moisture  in  the  soil  to  the  depth  of  8  inches  was  daily  de- 
termined (Repts.  1894  p.  275  and  1895  p.  150)  both  under 
the  growing  crop  and  on  unplanted  land,  the  surface  of  which 
was  cultivated  from  time  to  time. 

A  single  observation  of  the  remarkable  effect  of  nitrate  of 
soda  in  checking  the  transpiration  of  water  by  tlie  plant  is 
worth  recording.  On  July  25,  1892,  when  the  soil  was  so  dry 
that  the  tobacco  was  badly  wilted  in  the  morning,  nitrate  of 
soda  was  applied  on  one  plot  at  the  rate  of  220  lbs.  per  acre. 
Within  36  hours,  the  plants  on  that  plot  looked  as  if  they  had 
all  the  moisture  needed  while  the  rest  of  the  crop  looked  parch- 
ed.   A  rain  followed  on  the  31st.  which  revived  all  the  tobacco. 

Temperature.  Air  and  soil  temperatures  taken  in  1894  (Rept. 
1894,  p.  278)  showed  a  maximum  by  the  radiation  thermome- 


PoQUONOCK  Fertilizer  Experiments.  21 

ter  of  111°  F.  and  minimum  39^^°  in  1894  and  102°  and  41° 
respectively  in  1895.  The  maximum  and  minimum  soil  tem- 
peratures (average  depth  of  nine  inches)  in  1894  were  97.9° 
and  53.1°  and  the  next  year  101°  and  50°. 

Results  of  the  Experiment. 

In  the  following  paragraphs  the  results  of  this  five  year  ex- 
periment are  briefly  summarized.  A  full  discussion  of  them 
is  given  in  the  Station  Report  for  1897.  page  243-256.  The 
type  of  tobacco  was  "Connecticut  Havana"  used  chiefly  for 
cigar  wrappers. 

Loss  of  Weight  during  Fermentation.  In  the  five  crops 
this  loss  ranged  from  8.1  per  cent,  to  14  per  cent,  but  the 
crop  which  lost  most  (1893)  was  called  "poorly  sweated", 
while  all  the  others  were  satisfactorily  fermented.  The  char- 
acter, and  not  the  total  amount  of  the  fermentation  determines 
the  success  of  the  process ;  and  when  done  in  cases,  the  own- 
er has  little  control  over  either  the  character  or  the  amount  of 
fermentation. 

Weight  of  Wrapper  Leaves.  The  average  number  of  leaves 
per  pound  of  short  and  long  wrappers  before  and  after  fermen- 
tation, is  as  follows : 

Before.        After. 

Short  Wrappers 87  92 

Long"  Wrappers 62  68 

These  are  the  averages  of  all  plots  under  experiment.  The 
largest  number  of  fermented  short  wrapper  leaves  per  pound 
from  any  one  plot  was  113;  the  largest  number  of  fermented 
long  wrapper  leaves  was  98. 

Fire-Holding  Capacity.  This  was  determined  by  the  aver- 
age of  thirty  tests  made  on  5  leaves.  Each  leaf  was  tested 
in  six  different  places,  three  on  each  side  of  the  midrib ;  at  the 
base,  near  the  center  and  near  the  tip.  For  each  test  the  leaf 
was  held  horizontally  over  a  "  lighter ",  (described  in  the 
Report  for  1892,  p.  17)  until  a  circular  hole  was  burned,  glow- 
ing at  the  edges.  The  leaf  was  quickly  removed  and  the  number 


22  Connecticut  Experiment  Station  Bulletin  180. 

of  seconds  was  noted,  which  elapsed  before  the  last  spark  had 
gone  out.  The  average  of  the  thirty  tests  was  taken  to  repre- 
sent the  fire-holding  capacity  of  the  lot.  The  average  number 
of  seconds  during  which  the  wrappers  held  fire  before  and 
after  fermentation  were  as  follows : 

Before.  After. 

Short  Wrappers 12.0  28.5 

Long  Wrappers 9.2  23.9 

The  fire-holding  capacity  of  the  fermented  leaves  was  gen- 
erally more  than  double  than  of  the  unfermentd. 

Percentage  of  Wrappers.  The  percentages  of  long  and 
short  wrappers  in  the  sorted  crops  have  ranged  from  47.2 
(1893)  to  66.6  (1892)  and  have  averaged  60.7.  Certain  plots 
have  yielded  as  high  as  78  per  cent,  of  wrappers. 

Yield  per  acre  of  Pole-Cured,  Sorted  Tobacco.  The  aver- 
age yield  for  all  the  plots  ranged  during  the  five  years  from 
1568  to  1876  pounds  per  acre  and  averaged  1685  pounds.  The 
maximum  yield  from  any  single  plot  in  a  single  year  was  2280 
pounds;  the  minimum  yield,  1145  pounds.  A  good  average 
yield  of  Havana  leaf  in  this  state  is  1800  pounds. 

Loss  of  Weight  in  Sorting.  The  loss  of  weight  in  sort- 
ing ranged  from  4.6  to  5.3  per  cent,  of  the  weight  of  the  crop 
in  the  bundle;  that  is,  one  thousand  pounds  of  tobacco  in  the 
bundle  yielded,  on  the  average,  950  pounds  of  sorted  tobacco. 
The  loss  consists  of  trash  leaves  (spoiled  in  the  field  or  dam- 
aged by  sunburn  or  poleburn  in  the  curing  barn)  and  of 
moisture  which  evaporates  from  the  tobacco  during  storage 
and  sorting.  The  best  growers  avoid,  so  far  as  possible,  the 
addition  of  water  to  the  leaf  either  by  blowing  or  sprinkling. 
Such  applications,  unless  very  carefully  made,  may  spot  the 
leaves  and  damage  the  quality  of  the  tobacco  during  fermen- 
tation. 

The  Comparative  Value  of  the  Leaf  from  the  Sci'cral  Plots. 
The  method  which  sought  to  fix  this  value  has  already  been 
described.     As  was  to  be  expected  the  comparatixo  values  of 


PoQUONOCK  Fertilizer  Experiments.  23 

the  crops  from  the  twenty-nine  plots  were  not  the  same  in  any 
two  years.  For  example  one  of  the  twenty-nine  lots  of  tobac- 
co was  graded  as  fourteenth  in  1892  and  1893  i.  e.  of  about 
average  quality,  in  1894  it  ranked  second,  in  1895  first,  i.  e. 
best  or  nearly  best,  and  in  1896,  seventh. 

If,  now,  we  average  the  five  numbers  representing  the  grad- 
ing of  the  tobacco  for  each  year,  in  the  case  before  us  14,  14, 
2,  1,  and  7,  we  obtain  a  figure  which  is  a  numerical  expression 
of  the  average  relative  quality  of  the  crop  on  this  plot  for  the 
five  years  taken  together. 

Effect  of  the  Quantity  of  Fertilizer  Nitrogen  on  the 
Amount  and  Quality  of  the  Crop.  All  of  the  plots  in  this  test 
had  340*  pounds  of  potash  and  190  pounds  of  phosphoric  acid 
applied  yearly  in  the  form  of  cotton  hull  ashes  (about  1200 
pounds)  and  with  it  on  three  plots,  3000,  2500  and  1500  pounds 
of  cotton  seed  meal  respectively,  while  three  of  the  plots  had 
corresponding  amounts  of  castor  pomace.  The  amounts  of 
nitrogen  in  these  dressings  were  210,  175  and  105  pounds,  re- 
spectively. 

Result.  The  plot  dressed  with  3000  pounds  of  cotton  seed 
meal  yearly  yielded  on  the  average  of  five  years  a  larger  weight 
of  wrappers  than  either  of  the  others.  The  gain  was  enough 
to  make  the  larger  application  profitable  even  if  the  crop  sold 
as  low  as  12  cents  per  pound.  The  average  quality  of  the  crop 
was  also  better.  Like  results  followed  the  use  of  castor 
pomace. 

Can  Part  of  a  Heavy  Dressing  of  Nitrogen  he  Profitably 
Applied  in  Nitrate  Soda  During  the  Growing  Season?  Witli 
like  quantities  of  phosphoric  acid  and  potash,  210  pounds  of 
nitrogen  were  yearly  applied  to  each  of  three  plots  :  to  one  in 


*The  only  other  source  of  potash  and  phosphoric  acid  has  been  the 
nitrogenous  matter  (cotton  seed  meal  or  castor  pomace),  which  sup- 
plied a  comparatively  small  amount.  This  large  quantity  of  potash 
was  used  because  experienced  growers  suggested  it  and  it  agrees  with 
common  practice.  The  amount  is  very  much  larger  than  is  generally 
required. 


24  Connecticut  Experiment  Station  Bulletin  180. 

die  form  of  castor  pomace,  to  two  others,  half  of  the  nitrogen  in 
castor  pomace  and  half  in  nitrate  of  soda.  In  one  of  these  the 
nitrate  was  put  on  in  one  dose  during  the  growing  season  and 
in  the  other  in  two  applications. 

Result.  The  quantity  of  wrappers  was  somewhat  larger 
where  nitrate  was  used  but  the  average  quality  was  somewhat 
poorer,  so  that  there  appeared  to  be  no  economy  in  this  use  of 
nitrate. 

Comparison  of  Cotton  Seed  Meal  and  Castor  Pomace. 
Three  different  amounts  of  nitrogen  were  applied  to  three  plots 
in  each  of  the  two  forms. 

Result.  The  plots  dressed  with  castor  pomace  yielded  more 
tobacco  in  the  five  year  test  than  those  which  had  cotton  seed 
meal,  the  average  excess  being  111  pounds  of  sorted  tobacco 
or  25  pounds  of  wrappers  yearly.  . 

The  quality  of  the  leaf,  however,  was  somewhat  better  where 
cotton  seed  meal  was  used.  The  comparative  ranks  of  the  leaf 
on  the  three  cotton  seed  meal  plots  were  17th,  9th  and  11th; 
on  the  pomace  plots  26th,  16th  and  7th.  The  writer  believes 
that  in  a  favorable  season  castor  pomace  will  give  as  good 
quality  as  cotton  seed  meal  but  if  the  season  is  unfavorable  to 
decay  and  nitrification,  the  pomace  is  too  slowly  available  and 
pushes  the  crop  when  it  should  be  ripening  off,  thus  making 
a  darker  and  heavier  leaf. 

Comparison  of  Linseed  Meal  with  Cotton  Seed  Meal  and 
Castor  Pomace.     This  test  was  made  for  four  years  only. 

Result.  The  weight  of  crop  and  of  wrappers  was  decidedly 
less  where  linseed  was  used  (in  connection  with  cotton  hull 
ashes)  than  where  either  cotton  seed  meal  or  castor  pomace 
was  used. 

The  average  annual  difference  was  157  pounds  per  acre  in 
comparison  with  pomace  and  65  pounds  in  comparison  with 
cotton  seed  meal.  The  quality  of  leaf,  however,  was  decidedly 
better  on  the  linseed  plots  than  on  the  others. 

Comparison  of  Fish  Scrap  with  Cotton  Seed  Meal.  For 
four  years  two  plots  were  dressed  with  degelatinized  bone  and 


POQUONOCK  Fertilizer  Experiments,  25 

double  sulphate  of  potash.  Each  also  received  105  pounds 
of  nitrogen,  one  in  form  of  fish  scrap,  the  other  in  form  of 
cotton  seed  meal. 

Result.  The  average  yearly  yield  per  acre  from  the  plot 
dressed  with  fish  was  250  pounds  less  than  that  from  any  other, 
the  per  cent,  of  wrappers  was  smaller,  but  the  quality  of  the 
crop  was  surprisingly  good  being  graded  as  fourth  while  that 
from  the  cotton  seed  meal  plot  was  graded  as  seventeenth.  A 
few  hundred  pounds  of  fish  are  sometimes  used  by  growers  "to 
give  a  finish"  to  the  leaf,  but  in  general,  animal  forms  of  nitro- 
gen are  not  popular.  I  believe  that  tftiis  prejudice  is  carried 
too  far  and  that  easily  available  forms  like  red  dried  blood 
or  fish  or  fine  slaughter  house  tankage  may  well  be  used  for 
a  part  of  a  tobacco  formula. 

Comparison  of  Stable  Manure  and  Tobacco  Stems.  This 
comparison  was  made  for  only  four  years.  In  the  first  year 
while  other  plots  were  under  tillage  the  two  in  this  series  were 
uncultivated  and  bore  a  sparse  growth  of  grass  and  blackberry 
vines. 

One  plot  was  dressed  with  10  to  12  cords  of  mixed  yard 
manure,  estimated  to  supply  about  111  pounds  of  nitrogen,71 
pounds  of  phosphoric  acid  and  149  pounds  of  potash.  In  two 
of  the  four  years  it  also  received  500  pounds  per  acre  of  Swift- 
Sure  Superphosphate,  containing  15  pounds  of  nitrogen,  72 
pounds  of  phosphoric  acid  and  23  pounds  of  potash. 

The  other  plot  received  in  each  of  the  four  years  6000 
pounds  of  tobacco  stems,  containing  111  pounds  of  nitrogen, 
36  pounds  of  phosphoric  acid  and  486  pounds  of  potash.  In 
two  of  the  four  years  it  likewise  received  500  pounds  of  Swift- 
Sure  Superphosphate. 

Result.  The  average  yield  of  tobacco  from  tobacco  stems 
was  1654  pounds  but  from  stable  manure  it  was  much  less, 
1390  pounds  which  is  fully  explained  by  the  low  availability 
of  the  nitrogen  of  stable  manure.  Where  ten  to  twelve  cords 
per  acre  are  used,  it  should  be  supplemented  by  some  quickly 
available  form  of  nitrogen,  like  cotton  seed  meal.  On  the 
average  of  four  years  the  tobacco  from  stable  manure  was 


26  Connecticut  Experiment  Station  Bulletin  180. 

graded  6th,  that  from  stems  18th,  while  that  from  the  three 
plots  dressed  with  cotton  seed  meal  and  cotton  hull  ashes  was 
graded  19th,  10th  and  12th. 

The  effect  of  manure  is  not  at  all  measured  by  the  amount 
of  plant  food  in  it.  It  adds  bacterial  life  and  bacterial  food 
to  the  soil  without  which  the  conversion  of  organic  forms  of 
nitrogen  is  difficult  or  impossible.  It  facilitates  the  holding 
and  movement  of  the  soil  water,  modifies  the  temperature  and 
by  the  process  of  its  decay  helps  make  soluble  the  mineral 
matters  of  the  soil.  Unless  cover  crops  are  successfully  grown 
on  tobacco  lands  in  this  state  the  use  of  stable  manure  as  an 
amendment  as  well  as  a  fertilizer  is  necessary  to  get  the  best 
results.  . 

Comparison  of  the  Effects  of  Various  Forms  of  Potash  on 
the  Quality  of  Tobacco.  The  plots  used  for  this  test  received 
yearly  105  pounds  of  nitrogen  in  form  of  cotton  seed  meal  and 
150  pounds  of  phosphoric  acid  either  in  the  cotton  hull  ashes 
(used  on  two  plots  as  a  form  of  potash)  or  in  a  degelatinized 
bone.  All  likewise  had  yearly  340  pounds  per  acre  of  potash 
in  the  different  forms  tested. 

Results.  The  highest  yields  of  leaf  were  on  plots  dressed 
with  sulphate  of  potash  or  double  sulphate  of  potash.  There 
was  no  great  difference  in  the  percentage  of  wrappers  in  the 
several  crops. 

The  wrappers  raised  on  forms  of  carbonate  of  potash  held 
fire  longer  than  the  others.  The  relative  rank  in  quality 
in  the  series  of  twenty-nine  plots  was  as  follows : 

First,  double  carbonate  of  potash  and  magnesia;  second 
wood  ashes ;  tenth,  carbonate  of  potash ;  thirteenth,  double 
sulphate  of  potash  and  magnesia ;  seventeenth,  cotton  hull 
ashes ;  twenty-first,  double  sulphate  of  potash  and  magnesia 
with  added  lime ;  twenty- third,  high  grade  sulphate  of  potash 
with  added  lime;  twenty-seventh,  high  grade  sulphate  of 
potash. 

These  experiments  in  the  application  of  fertilizers  to  tobacco 
were  carried  out  for  five  years  with  all  the  care  and  skill  at 


PoQUONOCK  Fertilizer  Experiments.  27 

our  command.  Certain  questions  regarding  the  effects  of  a 
number  of  fertilizer  materials,  which  have  been  vainly  discus- 
sed for  a  long  time,  were  answered  by  these  experiments  as 
satisfactorily  as  is  in  the  nature  of  things  possible. 

The  opinions  of  growers  regarding  tobacco  fertilizers  arc 
widely  divergent  and  the  prejudices  of  both  growers  and  deal- 
ers are  sometimes  strong.  Thus  certain  growers  declare  that 
they  would  not  use  stable  manure  on  tobacco  if  it  cost  them 
nothing  to  use  it;  others  would  use  nothing  else  if  they  could 
buy  enough  manure. 

In  1897  the  only  tobacco  which  remained  green  through  the 
growing  season  and  ripened  normally,  while  all  of  the  other 
tobacco  in  the  field  turned  yellow  and  was  certainly  injured  by 
the  excessive  rainfall  which  leached  the  land,  was  that  grown 
on  the  plot  which  annually  for  four  years  had  been  dressed 
with  10  to  12  cords  of  stable  manure  per  acre. 

On  the  other  hand,  in  time  of  drought  we  have  seen  the 
tobacco  on  manured  land  holding  its  own  while  on  unmanured 
land  it  obviously  suffered  for  lack  of  moisture. 

Certain  dealers  refuse  to  buy  crops  from  land  on  which  lin- 
seed meal  was  used.  The  results  of  our  four  years  tests  show 
no  ground  for  this  objection. 

Some  growers  believe  that  castor  pomace  is  greatly  super- 
ior to  cotton  seed  meal  as  a  fertilizer ;  others  condemn  pomace. 
Yet  careful  comparison  for  five  years  fails  to  show  any  great 
difference  in  their  effects.  The  summary  given  on  previous 
pages  will  show  other  illustrations  of  the  fact,  that  on  this 
soil,  typical  of  much  of  our  tobacco  land,  careful  experiments 
managed  by  a  skillful  and  successful  grower  and  with  all  fac- 
ilties  for  accurate  work,  do  not  justify  many  of  the  opinions 
of  growers  and  dealers  regarding  the  effects  of  different  forms 
of  plant  food  on  the  quality  of  wrapper  tobacco. 

One  fact,  emphasized  by  our  experience,  is  that  there  is 
no  "best"  tobacco  fertilizer  or  "best"  formula  for  all  seasons 
even  on  the  same  soil.  A  formula  or  a  form  of  plant  food 
which  in  one  season  gives  to  the  leaf  a  somewhat  better 
quality  than  any  other,  may,  perhaps  the  next  year  and  on  the 


28  Connecticut  Experiment  Station  Bulletin  180. 

same  soil,  prove  inferior  to  others  for  reasons  which  can  only 
be  surmised.  Nevertheless  by  comparing  the  efifects  of  these 
fertilizers  for  a  term  of  years,  it  appears  that  certain  of  them 
are  on  the  w^hole  and  generally  speaking  more  likely  to  impart 
a  perfectly  satisfactory  quality  to  the  leaf  than  certain  others. 

It  is  doubtless  true  of  tobacco  as  of  other  crops  that  the 
liberal  but  not  greatly  excessive  supply  of  readily  available 
plant  food  yearly  required  to  ensure  a  paying  crop,  may  be 
given  in  a  variety  of  forms  with  equally  good  results  on  the 
average  of  one  season  with  another,  and  that  indeed  occasioral 
changes  in  the  form  of  nitrogen  and  potash  supplied  may  be  a 
distinct  advantage;  avoiding  always  any  considerable  quantity 
of  those  things,  chlorine  and  sulphuric  or  other  free  acids, 
which  experience  has  shown  may  damage  the  leaf. 

There  is  no  doubt  that  in  the  past  many  tobacco  fields  have 
been  overstocked  with  potash.  This  was  done  because  it  was 
felt  that  any  deficiency  in  burning  quality  of  the  leaf  must  be 
ascribed  to  a  deficiency  of  potash.  This,  as  we  have  seen,  is 
not  the  fact.  Certain  growers  who  had  dressed  their  land 
very  heavily  in  the  past  years  have  omitted  all  potash  from 
their  formulas  for  three  years  in  succession  and  have  raised 
excellent  crops,  thus  utilizing  the  abundant  supply  already  in 
the  soil. 

Recent  observations  indicate  also  that,  although  relatively 
little  phosphoric  acid  is  removed  in  the  crop,  the  yield  has  been 
increased  and  quality  maintained  or  improved  by  the  use  of 
200  or  300  pounds  of  acid  phosphate  or  "precipitated  bone" 
per  acre.  The  following  tests  on  this  point  made  by  the  Sta- 
tion in  cooperation  with  the  U.  S.  Department  of  Agriculture 
have  not  previously  been  published. 

In  a  large  tobacco  field,  on  land  apparently  uniform  and 
long  used  for  tobacco,  six  plots  of  one-third  acre  each  were 
laid  off.  Four  of  them,  1,  2,  3  and  4  were  dressed  with  the 
following  formula  per  acre;  12  tons  stable  manure,  1500  lbs. 
cotton  seed  meal,  800  lbs.  lime,  and  400  lbs.  bone  meal  contain- 
ing about  260  lbs.  nitrogen,  210  lbs.  phosphoric  acid  and  170 
lbs.  potash.  Plots  5  and  6  had  no  manure  but  equal  amounts 
of  these  tliree  elements  in  form  of  commercial  fertilizers. 


PoQUONocK  Fertilizer  Experiments.  29 

In  addition  each  plot  except  4  received  100  lbs.  of  phosphor- 
ic acid  per  acre  in  the  following  forms ;  plot  1 ,  acid  phosphate, 
plots  2  and  6  double  superphosphate,  plots  3  and  5  precipitated 
bone.  The  season  was  a  favorable  one,  the  Cuban  tobacco 
shade-grown. 

Plots  4,  5  and  6  gave  about  the  same  yield  of  fermented  mer- 
chantable wrappers. 

Plot  3,  gave  25  lbs.  more,  plot  2,  55  lbs.  more  and  plot  1,  88 
lbs.  more  than  4,  5  or  6.  The  leaf  after  bulk  fermentation  was 
judged  by  an  expert.  The  burn  and  quality  of  all  the  samples 
was  excellent.  But  that  from  plot  3  with  precipitated  bone 
was  best  of  all;  that  from  plot  5,  precipated  bone  without 
manure,  ranked  next.  The  tobacco  from  plots  1  and  2,  acid 
phosphate  and  double  superphosphate,  ranked  next ;  that  from 
plot  4,  no  extra  phosphate,  was  poorest  of  all  and  from  plot  6 
not  much  better.  Only  two  pickings  were  made  and  the  four 
top  leaves  were  left  on  the  stalks. 

The  acre  yields  of  fermented,  merchantable  wrappers  were 
as  follows : 

Plot  1  .    .    .    .888  lbs.  Plot  4  .    .    .    .801  lbs. 

"     2  ....  855  "  "     5  ....  804    " 

"     3  ....  825  "  "     6  ....  798    " 

Another  test  was  made  with  Broad  Leaf  tobacco  grown  in  the 
open.  The  whole  field  received  8  cords  of  manure  and  1000 
lbs.  of  cotton  seed  meal  per  acre  the  two  containing  about  288 
lbs.  of  nitrogen,  176  lbs.  of  phosphoric  acid  and  227  lbs.  of 
potash.  The  phosphate  additions  to  the  fertilizer  per  acre 
and  the  yield  of  cured  leaf  were  as  follows. 

Plot.  Lbs 

1  no  added  phosphate 1732 

2  100  lbs.  phosphoric  acid  in  acid  phosphate 1696 

3  100    "  "  "     "   basic  phosphate,  "Thomas  slag"  1840 

4  100    "  "  1 1     .  <   double  superphosphate 1876 

5  100    "  "  "     "   precipitated  bone 2140 

Five  pound  samples  were  fermented  in  the  case  and  judged 
by  a  dealer  in  leaf  tobacco. 


30  Connecticut  Experiment  Station  Bulletin  180. 

Plots  1  and  2  had  the  smallest  and  not  very  different  yields. 
Basic  phosphate  and  double  superphosphate  gave  considerably 
larger  and  nearly  equal  yields.  Precipitated  bone  gave  by  far 
the  largest  yield. 

All  the  tobacco  had  a  very  good  burning  quality,  that  grown 
without  added  phosphate  having  a  little  freer  bum  than  the 
otiiers. 

The  leaf  grown  with  double  superphosphate  and  precipita- 
ted bone  had  better  size,  grain  and  general  quality  than  that 
grown  with  acid  phosphate  or  basic  phosphate. 

While  these  tests  do  not  prove  that  in  general  large  additions 
of  phosphates  will  pay,  they  indicate  that  yield  may  be  increas- 
ed without  impairing  quality  by  the  use  of  larger  amounts  of 
phosphoric  acid  in  the  form  of  precipitated  bone  or  double 
superphosphate. 

In  general,  growers  do  not  use  enough  lime  on  their  land. 
There  is  little  danger  of  making  a  flaky  ash  by  the  use  of 
at  last  500  pounds  of  lime  per  acre  each  year. 

Despite  the  fact  that  some  fields  have  been  planted  to  tobac- 
co for  40  years  in  succession  and  still  yield  excellent  crops, 
I  do  not  believe  that  in  general  tobacco  fields  will  yield  as  they 
should  without  occasionally  resting  them  by  growing  some 
other  crop.  Fertilization  on  the  thin,  light  soils  suitable  for 
the  crop  must  be  heavy,  large  residues  from  fertilizer  chem- 
icals are  left  in  the  soil  and  it  is  easy  to  believe  that  in  time 
these  accumulations  check  the  growth  of  the  crop*.  Another 
crop  and  the  weathering  of  the  soil  for  a  year  may  do  much 
to  remedy  the  evil. 

The  Growing  of  Wrapper  Leaf  Tobacco  under  Shade. 

The  success  which  attended  the  shade-growing  of  tobacco 
in  Florida  for  a  term  of  years  suggested  the  inquiry  whether 
such  a  practice  was  feasible  in  Connecticut  and  induced  die 
Station  in  1900,  in  cooperation  with  the  Division  of  Soils  of  the 


*  For  observations  on  thi^^  subject  at  the  Massachusetts  Station, 
see  85. 


Tobacco  Growing  Under  Shade. 


31 


U.  S.  Department  of  Agriculture,  to  test  this  matter.  A  shade 
was  built,  as  shown  in  the  picture,  covering  about  one-third 
of  an  acre.  One-half  w^as  set  with  Connecticut  Havana  and 
one-half  with  Florida-grown  Sumatra  tobacco.  The  details 
of  the  tests  which  were  continued  for  three  years  are  described 
in  Kept.  1900  p.  322  and  Kept.  1901  p.  295  and  need  not  be 
repeated  here  having  been  largely  superseded  by  later  improve- 
ments.    The  tobacco  was  fermented  by  us  in  bulk  as  described 


Fig.  3.     The  first  Tobacco  Shade  in  Connecticut. 


on  page  36.  This  test  was  epoch-making  for  it  demonstrated 
that  tobacco  equal,  at  least,  in  wrapping  quality  to  any  raised 
either  in  this  country  or  abroad  could  be  raised  in  Connecticut. 
The  crop  of  1901,  amounting  to  957  pounds,  was  sold  by  L. 
B.  Haas  &  Co.,  at  private  sale  for  $1526.35,  an  average  of  $1.59 
per  pound  all  through.  One  hundred  and  seventy-nine  pounds 
of  it  sold  for  $2.50  per  pound  and  the  lowest  price  per  pound 


32  Connecticut  Experiment  Station  Bulletin  180. 

was  47  cents.  Twenty-one  and  one  half  pounds  of  trash 
leaves  brought  no  price.  The  opinions  of  expert  tobacco 
dealers  and  manufacturers  on  the  quality  of  the  leaf  will  be 
found  in  Kept.  1900,  p.  327. 

It  is  quite  certain  that  some  of  this  leaf,  being  a  novelty  and 
having  characters  not  seen  before  in  Connecticut  leaf  brought 
a  price  higher  than  its  real  merits  warranted. 

The  Station  report  of  the  experiment  cautioned  growers  a- 
gainst  anything  more  than  experimental  shade  growing  until 
methods  of  growing  and  handling  were  better  understood.  We 
reported  "It  is  not  likely  that  the  growing  of  the  Sumatra  type 
of  leaf  in  this  state  can  be  made  a  complete  success  without 
some  years  of  experience  and  intelligent  experiment.  A  fic- 
titious 'booming'  of  the  business  at  the  outset  will  certainly 
be  followed  by  a  correspondingly  irrational  depression  later". 

This  prophecy  was  immediately  fulfilled  and  inexperienced 
persons  plunged  into  shade  growing  on  a  large  scale.  The 
announcement  was  made  in  spite  of  our  warnings  that  success 
was  assured  and  a  new  industry  established.  Several  hundred 
thousand  dollars  were  sunk  in  the  business  and  it  was  aban- 
doned for  a  time  by  all  except  Mr.  M.  L.  Floyd,  who  was  asso- 
ciated with  us  in  the  first  year's  experiment  and  who  has  raised 
tobacco  under  shade  every  year  since.  Having  learned  the 
whole  business  by  study  and  experiment,  he  has  made  a  com- 
mercial success  of  it  and  now  has  some  600  acres  under  shade. 
In  1902,  two  hundred  acres  were  grown  under  shade  under 
Mr.  Floyd's  management ;  in  the  following  years  somewhat 
less:  1909,  200  acres;  1910,  250  acres;  1911,  575  acres;  1912, 
607  acres. 
It  soon  appeared  that  the  Sumatra  seed  used  was  a  mixture  of 
strains  of  differing  size  and  shape  of  leaf  as  well  as  of  quality 
and  that  one  reason  for  the  failure  of  the  previous  business 
ventures  in  shade  growing  was  tlie  lack  of  uniformit}'  in  size, 
shape  and  quality  of  leaf. 

In  1902,  seed  of  the  Cuban  tobacco  was  imported  by  A\'illiam 
Hazelwood  of  New  York  and  beginning  in  1903,  it  was  bred 
and  selected  for  a  number  of  years  by  the  U.  S.  Dc]\-inniont 


Tobacco  Cueing.  33 

of  Agriculture  in  this  state  and  now  is  used  for  growing  under 
shade  to  the  entire  exclusion  of  Sumatra.  Size,  quality  and 
flavor  are  all  superior  in  the  Cuban  leaf  as  bred  in  this  state.* 
In  1911  about  1800  acres  of  tobacco  were  grown  in  this 
state  under  shade,  some  of  it  with  indifferent  success.  As 
long  as  the  trade  calls  for  this  kind  of  leaf,  there  is  no  doubt 
that  it  can  be  profitably  grown  in  Connecticut  if  the  necessary 
capital  and  skill  are  available.  An  instructive  report  on  the 
effect  of  shade  on  soil  moisture,  air  temperature  and  rate  of 
growth  is  given  by  J.  B.  Stewart,  (17). 

Tobacco  Curing. 

Special  attention  is  called  to  Farmers'  Bulletin  No.  523  of 
the  U.  S.  Department  of  Agriculture,  by  Dr.  W.  W.  Garner 
of  the  Bureau  of  Plant  Industry,  on  Tobacco  Curing  and  to 
Bulletin  No.  143  of  the  Bureau  of  Plant  Industry,  by  the  same 
author,  on  Principles  and  Practical  Methods  of  Curing  Tobac- 
co (29).  These  bulletins  set  forth  clearly  the  nature  of  the 
changes  in  the  leaf  during  curing  and  fermentation  and  de- 
scribe the  proper  handling  of  tobacco  in  these  processes. 

Experiments  in  Curing  Tobacco  by  the  use 
OF  Artificial  Heat. 

The  frequent  damage  and  occasional  disaster  resulting  from 
pole-bum  need  no  description.  The  damage  is  caused  by  the 
growth  on  the  leaf  of  bacteria  which  can  only  develop  when 
the  leaf  is  very  damp,  sometimes  showing  minute  drops  of 
water  on  it. 

Moisture  sufficient  to  keep  the  leaf  in  good  case  and  to 
advance  the  cure  is  not  sufficient  to  start  pole-burn.  But  when 
the  atmosphere  continues  very  damp,  giving  no  chance  to  "air 
out"  or  "dry  out"  the  barn  by  opening  it,  the  trouble  is  likely 
to  appear.  Various  means  of  drying  the  leaf  have  been  tried. 
The  Connecticut  Tobacco  Corporation  regularly  builds  small 


*  Some  account  of  the  selection  work  is  given  in  89. 


34  Connecticut  Experiment  Station  Bulletin  180. 

charcoal  fires  on  the  ground  under  alternate  bents  on  both 
sides  of  the  barn  as  soon  as  it  is  filled  with  the  picked  leaves. 
These  fires  are  kept  up  until  the  leaves  are  very  thoroughly 
wilted,  the  barn  being  closed  throughout  the  time.  Then  it  is 
opened  wide  and  fires  are  not  again  used  except  in  extremely 
unfavorable  weather.  Many  growers  in  emergencies  kindle 
fires  under  the  hanging  leaf,  either  of  charcoal  or  wood.  It 
is  often  done  without  due  preparation  or  the  skill  which  ex- 
perience gives  and  with  very  various  and  often  unsatisfactory 
results. 

The  Station  has  made  several  attempts  to  supplement  the 
natural  curing  by  using  artificial  heat.  The  methods  tested 
are  discussed  in  Kept.  1897  p.  223,  1898  p.  297  and  1899  p.  286, 
but  as  none  proved  satisfactory,  no  further  notice  is  needed 
here. 

In  using  artificial  heat,  it  should  be  remembered  that  the  air 
inside  a  barn  is  usually  very  much  cooler  by  day  and  warmer 
by  night  than  that  outside.  It  should  be  much  easier  to  start  an 
upward  current  by  bottom  heat  in  the  night  than  in  the  day 
time.  Thus  in  an  observation  at  4  P.  M.,  the  air  outside  was 
82°F  and  in  the  middle  of  the  barn  74°.  At  noon  the  next 
day,  outside  80°,  inside  70° ;  next  day  outside  78°  inside  65°. 
The  corresponding  night  temperatures  were,  10  P.  M.  outside 
69°-67°,  inside  72°-73°.  The  next  night  1-5.30  A.  M.,  outside 
51°,  inside  66°-55°  and  the  next  night  2  A.  M.  outside  38°, 
inside  55°. 

Since  these  experiments  were  made,  the  whole  matter  of  ar- 
tificial heat  has  been  studied  by  Dr.  W.  W.  Garner  of  tlie  U.  S. 
Department  of  Agriculture  chiefly  in  cooperation  with  Mr. 
Wm.  Pinney  of  Sufheld. 

In  the  Rept.  1891  p.  187  is  an  account  of  the  curing  of 
wrapper  leaf  by  the  Snow  Modern  Bam  System  which  proved 
to  be  inapplicable. 

On  the  Fermentation  of  Tobacco. 

In  an  interesting  paper  on  the  nature  of  the  Fermentation  of 
Tobacco  (7  ),  Dr.  Oscar  Loew  advances  the  explanation  of 


Fermentation  of  Tobacco.  35 

the  fermentation  of  tobacco  leaf  which  is  now  generally  ac- 
cepted. 

His  observations  indicate  that  fermenting  tobacco  containing 
from  18  to  25  per  cent,  of  moisture  is  germicidal  in  its  action 
and  few  if  any  bacteria  are  found  on  freshly  fermented  leaves. 
Contrary  therefore  to  previously  accepted  views  of  the  agency 
of  the  bacteria  in  the  process,  he  attributes  fermentation  to 
the  action  of  the  soluble  ferments  or  enzymes  formed  in  the 
growing  plant  and  perhaps  also  while  wilting  after  harvest 
The  enzymes  are  not  living  organisms  like  microbes,  but  chem- 
ical bodies  which  under  proper  conditions  cause  extensive 
chemical  changes.  A  familiar  example  is  the  diastase  of 
barley  which  will  convert  many  hundred  times  its  weight  of 
starch  into  sugar. 

In  tobacco  fermentation  the  main  changes  are  caused  by 
two  oxidizing  enzymes,  by  the  action  of  which  the  oxygen  of 
the  air  is  made  to  unite  with  various  compounds  in  the  leaf.  To 
this  action  chiefly  is  due  the  color  and  aroma  of  fermented 
tobacco. 

By  the  method  of  fermentation  or  "sweating"  formerly  imi- 
versal  in  this  state,  300  lbs.  or  more  of  the  sorted  leaf  tied  in 
*'hands"  of  13  to  18  leaves  is  tightly  and  smoothly  packed  into 
a  case  or  box  which  is  fairly  tight  on  the  sides  but  with  one- 
half  inch  spaces  between  the  end  boards.  The  leaf  is  packed 
with  the  tops  towards  the  center  and  butts  at  the  ends  of  the 
case.  The  cases  are  piled  in  an  unheated  storehouse  as  they 
are  packed,  turned  once  or  twice,  and  after  lying  over  one 
summer  are  sampled  and  ready  for  sale  to  manufacturers. 
Sorting  and  packing  is  begun  in  January,  or  as  soon  as  the 
cured  leaf  can  be  taken  from  the  bam,  and  finished  in  three 
or  four  months. 

In  1899  four  cases  were  packed  in  February  and  almost 
daily  readings  of  the  temperature  in  the  center  of  each  case 
were  made  by  a  telephone  thermometer.  The  figures  are  given 
in  Rept.  1899  p.  291.  One  case  lay  for  nine  weeks  before  the 
temperature  of  the  tobacco  rose  even  to  temperate  heat,  70°F. 


36  Connecticut  Experiment  Station  Bulletin  180. 

Another  full  month  passed  before  it  rose  to  80°.     In  no  one  of 
the  four  cases  did  the  temperature  go  above  83°. 

It  is  certain  that  tobacco  often  damages  (mold,  "canker") 
in  the  cases  between  the  time  of  packing  and  the  first  of  May. 
Indeed  we  believe  the  greatest  danger  to  cased  tobacco  from 
mold  and  mustiness  is  when  it  lies  cold,  damp  and  unferment- 
ed,  waiting  for  the  turning  of  the  seasons  to  warm  it  and  start 
the  fermentation. 

Fermentation  is  slow,  perhaps  slower  than  desirable  because 
of  the  tight  packing  which  nearly  excludes  air.  Fermentation 
being  in  part  a  process  of  oxidation,  requires  air  and  the  leaf 
can  be  so  tightly  packed  as  almost  to  prevent  ferm.entation. 

"Forced  Sweating"  has  been  practiced  in  past  years  in 
order  to  get  tobacco  into  market  quickly  or  to  "finish"  tobacco 
which  has  not  fermented  enough.  By  this  method  the  tobacco, 
packed  in  cases,  is  left  for  about  six  weeks  in  a  room  kept  at 
100°  to  130°  with  moist  air.  As  a  method  of  handling  a 
large  quantity  of  normally  cured  leaf  it  is  not  worth  consider- 
ing. It  is  rather  an  emergency  method  for  treating  sick  tobac- 
co, a  "get  cured  quick"  proposition. 

In  Sumatra,  Cuba,  Germany,  as  well  as  in  Florida,  a  third 
method  of  fermenting  wrapper  leaf  is  almost  universal  which 
is  perhaps  best  known  as  fermenting  in  "bulk".  In  principal 
jt  consists  in  carefully  laying  the  leaf  loose  or  tied  in  hands 
.in  rectangular  piles  which  contain  one  or  more  tons  of  leaf, 
and  covering  with  blankets  to  check  cooling  and  control  but 
not  prevent  evaporation.  (A  v/ater-proof  cover  will  damage 
the  leaf  on  the  top.) 

The  sweat  room  should  be  maintained  at  a  tem- 
perature of  80°  -  90°  F,  and  the  humidity  should  be  high 
enough  to  keep  the  leaf  soft  at  all  times.  Under  these  condi- 
tions the  "bulk"  immediately  heats  and  fermentation  proceeds 
rapidly.  As  soon  as  the  thermometer  inside  the  bulk  shows 
a  temperature  of  110°-130°  the  bulk  is  pulled  down,  the  leaf 
lightly  shaken  out  and  immediately  bulked  again  putting  that 
leaf  which  was  on  the  outside  of  the  former  bulk  on  the  in- 


Fermentation  of  Tobacco. 


37 


side  of  the  new  one.  In  the  new  bulk  the  rise  of  temperature 
is  slower.  This  operation  of  rebulking  is  continued  until  the 
leaf  is  finished. 

The  following  record  from  one  of  our  experiments  shows 
the  temperatures  which  may  prevail  within  a  bulk  from  the 
day  it  is  laid  down. 


TABLE  VIII. 

Temperatures  of  Bulked 

Tobacco. 

When  built  .    73° 

Dec.  23  .    .   .    86° 

Jan.  3  . 

.    94° 

Dec.  19  .    .    .    85° 

"    24.    .    .    92° 

"      5  . 

.    99° 

"    20  .   .   .    99° 

"    25  .   .    .    97° 

"      7  . 

.  104° 

'•     21  .    .    .  113° 

"    26  .    .    .  104° 

"      9 

.  108° 

"     22  .    .   .  121° 

••    28  .    .    .  112° 

"    11  . 

.  107° 

Shaken  out  and 

"    31  .   .    .  115° 

"    23  . 

.  100° 

bulked  again. 

Jan.    1  .   .   .  114° 

Shaken  out  and 

bulked  again. 

The  above  tests  were  on  Connecticut  Havana  and  represent 
work  done  by  the  Station  in  cooperation  with  the  U.  S.  Depart- 
ment of  Agriculture  in  1898.  It  was,  we  believe,  the  first  crop 
of  Connecticut  tobacco  fermented  by  the  bulk  method  within 
the  state. 

The  results  were  perfectly  satisfactory  although  the  process 
was  carried  out  with  no  expert  assistance.     (56  and  57). 

In  1899  (Rept.  1899  p.  291)  the  experiment  was  repeated 
on  a  larger  scale  with  the  assistance  of  Mr.  M.  L.  Floyd,  then 
in  the  employ  of  the  Division  of  Soils  of  the  U.  S.  Department 
of  Agriculture  and  now  general  manager  of  the  Connecticut 
Tobacco  Corporation.  In  the  report  cited  the  method  is  given 
in  detail.  The  results  also  were  perfectly  satisfactory  and 
their  publication  called  general  attention  to  the  method.  It 
is  now  universally  used  for  fermenting  shade-grown  tobacco 
and  to  some  extent  for  Connecticut  Havana  while,  as  far  as 
we  can  learn,  it  has  not  been  wholly  successful  with  Broadleaf. 
It  is  quite  likely  that  the  method  followed  with  shade-grown 
leaf  will  need  some  modification  to  get  the  best  results  with 
the  other  varieties. 


38  Connecticut  Experiment  Station  Bulletin  180. 

Tobacco  Breeding. 

As  before  stated  one  cause  contributing  to  the  temporary 
failure  of  the  shade  growing  business  was  the  uneven  quality 
of  the  tobacco  grown  from  Sumatra  seed.  Inspection  of  the 
growing  crop  showed  a  great  variety  of  plants  differing  in  size 
number  and  shape  of  leaves,  habit  of  growth  etc.  and  these 
yielded  a  crop  with  no  uniformity  of  quality.  This  observa- 
tion on  the  Sumatra  variety  has  served  to  call  attention  to 
corresponding  differences  in  the  character  of  our  Havana  and 
Broadleaf  crops.  Prominent  growers  often  have  their  own  fav- 
orite type  of  tobacco,  a  little  different  from  their  neighbors. 
Some  of  these  types  bear  the  name  of  their  originator  or  a 
prominent  grower  and  some  are  nameless.  Some  are  very  uni- 
form in  type  while  others  show  many  different  styles  of  plants 
in  the  same  field.  But  however  uniform  a  single  grower's  crop 
may  be,  the  differences  between  the  particular  style  of  his  leaf 
and  that  of  his  neighbor  and  of  other  growers  in  the  valley 
make  it  difficult  if  not  impossible  for  buyers  to  make  a  "pack- 
ing" of  any  considerable  size  which  will  be  quite  uniform,  for 
usually  the  crops  from  a  considerable  number  of  growers  must 
be  put  together  to  make  a  "packing".  This  directly  concerns 
the  growers,  for  the  price  must  be  affected  somewhat  by  differ- 
ences of  style  between  the  various  crops  even  if  other  points 
in  quality  are  the  same. 

These  facts  have  led  to  work  in  improving  the  quality  and 
uniformity  of  tobacco  in  two  ways :  first,  by  careful  seed  se- 
lection and  second,  by  producing  hybrids  which  will  combine 
the  good  characters  of  two  different  types.  The  U.  S. 
Department  of  Agriculture  and  this  Station  have  engaged  in 
this    work    cooperatively. 

The  methods  are  so  simple  that  every  grower  may  get  and 
keep  pure  seed  which  yields  plants  that  are  fairly  uniform  in 
all  respects.  This  method  has  been  fully  described.  (69  p. 
337). 

Tobacco  is  self-fertile :  that  is,  the  pollen  from  any  flower 
will  fertilize  its  own  ovaries  as  well  as  pollen  from  any  other 
flower. 


Tobacco  Breeding. 


39 


By  covering  the  flower  buds  of  a  selected  plant  with  a  paper 
bag  to  keep  out  insects  which  may  bring  foreign  pollen  and  by 
keeping  them  covered  until  all  flower  heads  have  faded,  tfiere 
will  be  a  good  yield  of  seed  which  will  produce  plants  much 
more  nearly  like  the  individual  parent  than  plants  which  grow 
from  mixed  seed  of  a  number  of  plants  and  probably  more  like 
the  parent  than  if  the  flower  head  had  not  been  protected 
from  pollination  from  without.  A  bagged  plant  is  shown  in 
figure  4. 


Fig.  4.     Tobacco  Plant  selected  and  bagged  for  Seed  Production. 

Seed  then  should  in  any  case  be  gathered  only  from  such 
carefully  examined  and  selected  plants  as  appear  to  be  of  the 
exact  kind  which  the  grower  wishes  to  raise.     Protecting  the 


40  Connecticut  Experiment  Station  Bulletin  180. 

flowers  from  the  pollen  of  other  plants  will  secure  still  greater 
uniformity.  If  the  progeny  from  this  selected  seed  is  perfectly 
satisfactory,  the  grower  may  bag  enough  plants  and  save 
enough  seed  from  them  to  last  him  for  a  dozen  years,  for  to- 
bacco seed  loses  little  of  its  vitality  in  that  time. 

If  the  first  progeny  from  selected  seed  however,  is  not  as 
uniform  as  is  desirable,  the  grower  should  select  again  the 
most  desirable  type  for  his  next  crop  and  wait  another  year 
before  getting  his  store  of  tobacco  seed. 

Very  much  greater  uniformity  of  crop  can  be  brought  about 
by  this  means,  which  is  quite  within  the  power  of  any  tobacco 
farmer. 

The  improvement  of  tobacco  by  hybridizing,  however,  is  a 
matter  for  expert  work.  No  hybrid  has  of  recent  years  been 
produced  which  has  been  generally  accepted  as  valuable.  The 
Halladay  hybrid,  saved  by  Mr.  Edmund  Halladay  from  some 
rejected  cross-bred  plants,  has  given  some  crops  of  great  merit, 
but  does  not  yet  seem  to  be  fully  fixed  in  type  and  uniform  in 
quality. 

The  studies  of  Prof.  East  of  Harvard  University  and  of  Mr. 
Hayes  of  this  Station  are  developing  the  laws  of  inheritance 
of  physical  characters  in  tobacco  and,  to  some  extent,  of  the 
mysterious  and  complex  thing  called"quality".  Such  care- 
ful study  is  necessary,  for  little  is  to  be  expected  from  crosses 
made  in  ignorance  of  the  underlying  principles  and  not  fol- 
lowed out  until  the  hybrid  has  been  perfectly  fixed  in  all  its 
essential  qualities. 

The  complex  nature  of  the  problems  involved  makes  it  im- 
possible to  reach  anything  like  a  final  solution  without  long 
continued  work;  however,  certain  principles  have  been  estab- 
lished. Our  results  show  that  the  first  generation  of  tobacco 
crosses  is  as  uniform  as  the  parents  and  of  intermediate  value. 
The  second  hybrid  generation  grown  from  self-fertilized  first 
generation  plants,  however,  shows  a  wide  ranage  of  variation. 
Often  new  forms  come  into  being  due  to  a  recombination  of 
parental  characters.  Certain  inbred  second  generation  plants 
breed  true  the  third  season;  others  breed  true  for  some  char- 


Insects  Which  Injure  Tobacco.  41 

acters  and  others  are  as  variable  as  the  second  generation  itself. 
The  production  of  fixed  forms  which  contain  desirable  plant 
characters  is  not,  however,  a  simple  problem  because  of  the 
large  number  of  inherited  factors  in  which  plants  of  different 
races  differ  and  because  a  superficial  resemblance  does  not 
necessarily  mean  a  germinal  or  heritable  resemblance.  It  is 
necessary  to  grow  large  second  generations  of  crosses  and  to 
save  seed  from  those  plants  which  most  nearly  conform  to  the 
desired  type.  The  important  matter  in  practice  is  to  grow  a 
sufficiently  large  number  of  third  generations  to  run  a  fair 
chance  of  testing  out  all  the  combinations  of  factors  possible 
to  the  parental  varieties.  Selection  should  then  be  continued 
in  later  generations  until  the  desired  form  has  been  obtained. 

Since  quality  of  cured  leaf  depends  on  many  factors,  exter- 
nal as  well  as  internal,  it  is  probably  unreasonable  to  expect 
any  single  character  to  be  closely  correlated  with  quality.  The 
results  of  our  experiments  have  shown  that  quality  is  depend- 
ent on  both  hereditary  and  environmental  conditions  and  that 
high  quality  and  uniformity  of  leaf  cannot  be  expected  if  a  type 
is  in  a  complex  hybrid  condition. 

Recently  a  sport  or  mutation  of  tobacco  was  found  by  Mr. 
J.  B.  Stewart  of  the  Windsor  Tobacco  Growers'  Corporation, 
which  produces  about  70  leaves  before  flowering  instead  of  the 
16  to  25  leaves  which  are  normal  in  the  Hazelwood  Cuban. 
This  mutation  has  bred  true  in  the  next  generation  and  the 
quality  of  the  cured  and  fermented  leaves  appears  to  be  excel- 
lent if  not  superior.  It  is  fully  described  by  Hayes  and  Bein- 
hart  in  (90)  and  the  progeny  will  be  closely  studied. 


Insects  Which  Injure  Tobacco. 

Tdbacco  or  Horn  Worms.  These  worms,  the  caterpillars 
of  sphinx  or  hawk  moths,  are  more  destructive  than  any  other 
insects  attacking  tobacco  in  this  state,  excepting  cut  worms. 
The  eggs  are  laid  singly  on  the  under  side  of  the  leaves  by  the 
adults  which  fly  only  at  dusk.     The  egg  hatches,  seldom  before 


42 


Connecticut  Experiment  Station  Bulletin  180. 


July,  into  a  worm  or  caterpillar  which  eats  tobacco  leaves  vo- 
raciously until  harvest  time.  The  fully  grown  caterpillar  goes 
into  the  ground  and  assumes  its  pupal  or  chrysalid  form  a  few 
inches  below  the  surface  to  emerge  as  a  moth  the  next  spring. 
An  important  natural  enemy  is  a  small  four-winged  fly 
which  lays  eggs  in  the  worm.  Its  larvae  develop  there  and 
fasten  their  cocoons  on  the  back  of  the  caterpillar  as  shown  in 
the  figure.     A  worm  thus  attacked  dies  before  transforming. 


Fig.  5.     Tobacco  or  Horn  Worm. 


Remedy.  The  only  control  practiced  in  Connecticut  is  hand 
picking.  Carman  in  Kentucky  has  shown  that  1  pound  of 
Paris  green  in  160  gallons  of  water  does  not  injure  the  leaf 
and  spraying  is  practiced  somewhat  in  Kentucky  and  also  in 
Florida  where  lead  arsenate  is  used  which  cannot  kill  the 
leaves  and  adheres  to  them  better  than   Paris  green. 

Flea  Beetles  damage  the  sand  leaves  chiefly,  soon  after  set- 
ting and  so  check  the  early  growth.  They  do  most  of  th^ir 
work  on  the  under  side  of  the  leaf  by  eating  the  tissue.  Some- 
times they  continue  their  attack  on  the  older  and  larger  lea^■es. 
Our  experiments  in  two  successive  years  proved  that  tobacco 
plants  at  setting  time  could  be  dipped  root  and  top  in  a  mixture 


Insects  Which  Injure  Tobacco. 


43 


of  1  pound  of  lead  arsenate  (paste)  in  10  gallons  of  water  and 
were  thereby  perfectly  protected  from  flea  beetles.  The  figure 
shows  this  insect,  greatly  enlarged. 


Fig.  6. 

The  cucumber  flea  beetle  Epitrix  cucunieris.      (After  Chittenden, 
Bureau  of  Entomology,  U.  S.  Department  of  Agriculture.) 

Grasshoppers,   Tree    Crickets,    Carolina    Locusts,    Etc. 

Sometimes  a  crop,  particularly  on  the  outside  rows,  especially 
when  near  grass,  weeds  or  brush,  is  very  seriously  damaged  by 
these  insects.  There  is  no  known  preventive  unless  spraying 
with  lead  arsenate  can  be  practiced. 


The  spined  tobacco    bug  Euchistus   variolarins .      (After    Howard, 
Bureau  of  Entomology,  U.  S.  Department  of  Agriculture.) 

The  Spined  Tobacco  Bug.    "Stink  Bug".     This  bug  some- 
times punctures  the  leaf  stem  and  sucks  out  the  plant  juices. 


44 


Connecticut  Experiment  Station  Bulletin  180. 


The  leaf  usually  wilts  but  may  recover  in  a  few  days  if  the 
conditions  are  favorable.  No  remedy  can  be  used  but  the 
damage  from  this  cause  is  usually  small.  The  insect  is  shown 
much  enlarged  in  the  figure.  The  straight  lines  show  the 
actual  size. 

Plant  Lice.  Green  lice  are  occasionally  found  on  the  under- 
side of  the  leaves  but  do  little  damage.  A  spray  of  one  pound 
of  laundry  soap  dissolved  in  8  gallons  of  water  should  kill  the 
lice  which  it  hits. 

White  Fly.  This  fly  is  not  at  present  frequently  found  on 
tobacco  in  the  field.  The  spray  of  soap  suds  frequently  applied 
is  the  remedy. 


Moth  of  the^black  cutworm 


The  variegated  cutworm. 
Natural  size. 


Fig.  8.     Tobacco  Cutworms. 


Cut  Worms.  These  insects  do  vastly  more  damage  to  to- 
bacco than  all  others  put  together  making  it  necessary  to  re- 
set the  field  or  to  set  missing  plants  many  times.  The  latter 
plan  tends  to  make  the  crop  uneven  in  maturity  and  quality 
at  harvest. 


Insects  Which  Injure  Tobacco.  45 

Cut  worms  are  caterpillars  of  a  number  of  species  of  owlet 
moths.  Most  species  have  but  one  brood  a  year.  The  eggs 
are  laid  on  grasses  late  in  summer.  The  worms  as  they  hatch 
feed  on  grass  roots  and  other  plants,  going  deeper  into  the  soil 
as  colder  weather  comes.  In  the  spring  they  come  out  and 
feed  on  plants  of  many  kinds.  Later  they  take  the  chrysalid 
form  in  the  ground  and  emerge  as  moths.  The  worms  feed 
at  night  and  spend  the  day  in  the  ground  or  under  clods  or 
rubbish.  They  and  the  moth  are  shown  in  the  figure,  the 
moth  much  enlarged. 

Remedies.  Late  fall  plowing  uncovers  many  worms 
which  are  eaten  by  birds,  and  also  kills  the  plant  growth  which 
is^  their  early  spring  food.  Undoubtedly  rye  and  other  cover 
crops  favor  their  presence  in  the  field.  The  best  poison  bait 
for  them  is  one  pound  of  Paris  green  to  one  hundred  pounds 
of  bran,  a  pint  or  more  of  molasses  and  enough  water  to  moist- 
en the  whole  which  is  thoroughly  mixed.  The  mash  is  strewn 
over  the  field  a  few  days  before  setting,  or  placed  on  the  rows 
where  the  plants  are  to  be  set.  This  will  kill  most  of  the 
worms  which  are  ready  to  attack  the  crop. 

Some  growers  have  found  it  worth  while  to  put  a  pinch  of 
this  mash  near  each  plant  when  set  and  claim  that  it  gives 
perfect  protection.  This,  however,  involves  a  great  deal  of 
labor. 

Wireworms.  These  are  the  worms  of  the  click  beetles  and 
unlike  cutworms  can  work  their  way  into  hard  vege- 
table matter.  Occasionally  but  not  often,  they  do  serious 
damage  to  tobacco  attacking  both  the  roots  and  the  base  of 
the  stem. 

The  worm  lives  for  at  least  three  years  underground,  trans- 
forming there  after  midsummer  of  the  third  season  in  earthen 
cells.     The  adult  beetle  emerges  the  following  spring. 

Remedy.  The  only  suggested  remedy  is  stirring  the  soil 
in  late  summer  and  fall  which'  breaks  the  cells  and  kills  many 
of  the  adults. 


46  Connecticut  Experiment  Station  Bulletin  180. 

Tobacco  Bud  Worm.  This  insect  which  is  not  at  all  com- 
mon in  this  state  is  a  greenish  caterpillar  which  eats  the  leaves. 
The  moth,  into  which  it  emerges,  is  shown  in  the  figure. 

A  more  detailed  account  of  the  insects  attacking  tobacco 
in  Connecticut  was  published  in  the  Report  of  this  Station. 
(70). 


Tobacco  Bud  Worm. 

5nails.  Snails  sometimes  do  considerable  damage  to  to- 
bacco in  the  seed  bed,  chiefly  where  the  soil  is  damp,  by  feed- 
ing on  the  leaves  and  stalks. 

Spraying  the  plants  with  a  weak  lead  arsenate  mixture 
poisons  them.  Thorough  ventilation  of  the  bed  to  dry  the 
surface  will  do  much  to  rid  it  of  the  pest. 


Fungous  and  Other  Diseases  of  Tobacco. 
a.     Diseases  of  Tobacco  in  the  Seed  Bed. 

Dampeningoff  and  Seedling  Stem  Rot.  Tliere  are  at  least 
three  different  fungi  v,hich  cause  dampening  off  trouble  in 
the  seed  bed.  When  these  attack  older  plants  the  tissues  of 
which  are  harder,  they  may  cause  cankers  on  the  lower  part 
of  the  stem.  Sucji  plants  should  never  be  used  for  setting  as 
they  are  likely  to  break  off  at  the  cankered  places  and  even 
if  they  survive  are  not  as  thrifty  as  normal  plants. 

These  troubles  are  induced  or  aggravated  by  over-crowding 
and  excessive  moisture  and  can  be  largely  prevented  by  proper 
watering  and  ventilation,  matters  to  be  learned  by  experience. 


Tobacco  Diseases. 


47 


If  they  persist  in  a  bed,  sterilizing  or  changing  the  soil  or  the 
location  of  beds  may  prove  helpful.  Low,  moist  land  and 
abundance  of  vegetable  matter,  especially  stable  manure,  ag- 
gravate these  troubles. 

They  are  apt  to  develope  in  cold,  moist,  or  "muggy"  weather 
when  it  is  difficult  to  rightly  air  the  beds. 

The  figures  show  the  work  of  the  fungus  and  the  effect 
of  soil  sterilization  ;  1  is  soil  sterilized,  2  soil  untreated. 


Fig.  9.     Effect  of  treatment  in  preventing  Stem  Rot  fungus. 


Root  Rot.  This  disease,  first  found  in  this  state  by  the 
.Station  botanist  on  violets,  did  very  serious  damage  in  Con- 
necticut seed  beds  and  fields  in  1906  and  1907  but  has  not  been 


48 


Connecticut  Experiment  Station  Bulletin  180. 


very  prevalent  since  that  time.  It  attacks  the  roots  of  the  plant 
either  very  early  in  the  bed  or  later  in  the  field.  The  affected 
seedlings  show  little  vigor,  form  rosettes  of  leaves  close  to 
the  ground  instead  of  standing  upright  and  may  either  wilt 
and  die  or  finally  outgrow  the  disease  by  forming  new  second- 


Showing  how  the  fungus  injures  base  of  stems. 
Fig.  10.     Dampening  off  Fungus  of  young  Tobacco  Plants. 


ary  roots,  but  seldom  if  ever  make  perfectly  normal  plants. 
The  tap  root  of  a  diseased  plant  is  often  destroyed  and  black 
spots  appear  on  the  smaller  lateral  roots.  A  full  discussion 
of  this  disease  is  given  in  (72)  with  bibliography  p.  366.  See 
also  (74)  and  (83). 


Tobacco  Diseases. 


49 


Remedies.  Plants  which  are  attacked  cannot  profitably 
be  treated  in  any  way.  The  trouble  seems  to  do  most  damage 
in  seed  beds  though  the  plants  may  sometimes  be  first  attacked 
after  setting  in  the  field.  Once  started  in  a  bed,  root  rot  is  like- 
ly to  increase  from  year  to  year  making  it  necessary  to  abandon 
the  bed  or  to  thoroughly  disinfect  it. 


Healthy. 


Disea=5ed. 


Fig.  11.     Effect  of  rot  on  roots  of  mature  field  plants. 


When  the  bed  is  conveniently  situated  and  permanentl}'- 
built,  the  latter  plan  is  often  the  best.  The  two  effective 
sterilizers  are  steam  and  formaldehyde.  The  latter  method, 
fully  discussed  in  (74)  and  (83),  is  in  brief  this:  It  is  best 
applied  in  the  fall  but  may  be  done  early  in  the  spring, 
thoroughly  airing  the  beds  afterwards.    A  mixture  of  1  volume 


so 


Connecticut  Experiment  Station  Bulletin  180. 


of  formaldehyde  or  formalin  37-40per  cent. or U.  S.  P.  strength 
in  100  volumnes  of  water  is  gradually  sprinkled  over  the  bed 
at  the  rate  of  a  gallon  per  square  foot,  and  slowly  enough 
not    to    puddle    the    surface  and  leave  liquid  standing  on  it. 


Healthy. 


>    / 


Diseased. 


Fig.  12.     Comparative  size  of  healthy  and  diseased  roots  of  seedlings. 


Cover  the  bed  immediately  for  a  day  or  two  with  boards  or 
canvas  to  keep  in  the  fumes  and  then  air  thoroughly  and  stir 
the  soil  lightly. 

Steaming  is  more  efifective  where  the  apparatus  can  be 
conveniently  obtained.  This  method  is  fully  described  in 
(66.)  The  pan,  shown  in  the  figure,  is  made  of  18-gauge 
galvanized  iron  with  a  handle  bar  at  each  end,  reinforced  with 


Tobacco  Diseases. 


51 


Fig.  13.     Steam  Sterilizer  on  Tobacco  Bed. 


strap  iron  and  having  a  nipple  for  a  steam  hose  connection 
with  a  steam  boiler,  six  to  eight  horse  power,  which  will 
maintain  70-80  pounds  of  steam.  A  tight  wooden  box  of 
similar  size  is  equally  effective. 

The  pan  is  inverted  over  one  end  of  the  bed  which  has  been 
raked  smooth,  ready  for  seeding.  Its  edges  are  pressed  down 
and  steam  is  turned  on  and  kept  at  a  boiler  pressure  of  70 
pounds  for  at  least  one-half  hour.  The  pan  is  then  moved  to  the 
next  section  of  the  bed  and  the  steamed  part  covered  with 


52  Connecticut  Experiment  Station  Bulletin  180. 

burlap  to  hold  the  heat  longer.  Where  a  long  bed  is  to  be 
treated,  two  pans  can  be  used  economically,  letting  the  one 
stand  after  steaming  while  the  other  is  in  operation. 

This  treatment,  and  in  less  degree  the  formalin  treatment, 
also  kills  weeds  and  makes  subsequent  weeding  almost  un- 
necessary. In  one  test  180  square  yards  of  bed  cost  the  labor 
of  two  men  two  days,  $6.00.  To  weed  90  square  yards  of 
unsterilized  bed  during  the  season  cost  $12.00  in  labor.  It 
is  to  be  remembered  that  a  steam  hose  is  dangerous  and  dur- 
ing steaming  no  one  should  stand  close  to  it. 

Sprinkling  affected  plants  with  formalin  solution  is,  in 
our  experience,  futile. 

Root  rot  may  cause  a  diminished  tobacco  crop  without 
showing  such  virulence  as  to  kill  any  plants.  A  cold  wet 
season  is  likely  to  aggravate  the  trouble.  It  seems  to  bear 
some  relation  to  improper  fertilization  especially  to  the  exces- 
sive use  of  alkaline  potash  manures. 

Sumatra  Disease,  Bacterial.  In  1907  this  trouble  appeared 
on  Sumatra  plants  and  did  severe  injury.  It  is  apparently 
bacterial,  attacking  the  base  of  the  stem  and  the  root  imme- 
diately below  it  and  is  entirely  distinct  from  the  root  rot  above 
described.      (73). 

It  has  not  yet  been  seen  on  our  Havana  or  Broadleaf. 


b.     Diseases  of  Tobacco  in  the  Field. 

Canker.  This  shows  as  a  girdling  of  the  stem  underground 
or  a  diseased  area  on  the  stem  abo\e.  In  tlio  latter  case 
there  is  a  dark  brown  sunken  area  in  tb.c  l)ark,  shari)ly  marked 
off  from  the  healthy  green  bark.  The  appearance  is  shown 
in  the  figure.  While  other  diseases  or  even  insect  injuries 
may  be  the  starting  point  of  this  disease,  the  canker  itself 
is  probably  of  bacterial  origin.  Till  now  it  has  not  been  com- 
mon enough  to  do  serious  damage.  Hea\y  manuring  seems 
to  favor  the  devlopment  of  this  disease. 


Tobacco  Diseases. 


53 


a.     Cankered  area  extending  on  stem  from  ground  upward. 


b.     Stem  girdled  under  ground. 
Fig.  14.     Canker  Disease  of  Tobacco. 


54 


Connecticut  Experiment  Station  Bulletin  180. 


"Calico",  sometimes  called  the  "mosaic  disease".  The 
experiments  of  the  Station  botanist,  Dr.  Clinton,  so  far 
indicate  that  most  of  the  "calico"  on  leaves  of  commercial 
value  in  the  fields  traces  back  to  the  seed  bed  or  to  infection 
of  the  seedlings  at  the  time  of  transplanting.  To  explain 
this  more  clearly,  it  should  be  stated  that  "calico"  is  a  disease 


Fig.  15.     Calico  from  tobacco  on  tomato  and  then  back  to  tobacco. 


that  is  very  easily  transmitted  by  handling  a  healthy  plant 
after  handling  a  "calicoed"  plant,  especially  if  any  of  the  juices 
from  the  "calicoed"  plants  are  on  the  hands.  This  juice  is 
only  effective  on  the  immature  or  growing  leaves.  That  is, 
one  can  touch  with  it  a  fully  grown  leaf  at  the  base  of  a 
tobacco  plant  and  it  will  not  "calico",  but  the  young  leaves 


Tobacco  Diseases.  SS 

above  will  become  "calicoed"  though  not  even  touched  at 
this  time.  From  this  it  can  be  seen  that  if  there  are  any 
"calicoed"  plants  in  the  seed  bed  the  handling  of  these  while 
transplanting  is  likely  to  greatly  spread  the  "calico"  to  other- 
wise healthy  plants.  This  explains  why  sometimes  in  the 
field  one  finds  every  other  plant  "calicoed"  for  quite  a  distance 
in  the  row.  The  man  who  set  these  either  got  the  juice  from 
a  "calicoed"  plant  on  his  hands  or  else  got  a  bunch  of  plants 
which  had  come  in  contact  with  "calicoed"  plants,while  the 
man  who  set  the  alternate  sound  plants  did  not  carry  the  in- 
fection. The  figure  shows  on  the  left  a  "calico"  leaf  from 
which  the  trouble  was  transmitted  to  the  tomato  leaf  in  the 
center  and  from  that  the  tobacco  leaf  on  the  right  was  infected. 

Unfortunately  "calico"  cannot  usually  be  recognized  in  the 
plants  while  in  the  seed  bed.  Occasionally  before  the  final 
setting,  such  plants  are  found.  Whenever  they  are  found 
they  and  the  surrounding  plants  should  be  pulled  out  and  the 
other  plants  should  not  be  touched  until  the  hands  have  been 
washed  thoroughly  with  soap  and  water. 

So  far,  the  chief  methods  of  lessening  "calico"  in  the  seed 
bed  are  avoiding  the  use  of  tobacco  water,  as  noted  above 
and  probably  steam  sterilization.  Some  growers  believe  that 
the  careless  use  of  fertilizers  on  the  growing  seedlings  pro- 
duces "calico",  but  if  so,  this  has  not  yet  been  proved  by 
experimentation. 

Seed  beds  should  never  be  made  on  land  recently  planted 
to  tobacco  nor  should  tobacco  stems  ever  be  used  in  the  bed. 
The  reason  is  that  a  single  calico  plant  in  a  bed  which  might 
have  been  caused  by  stems  may  infect  many  others  during 
the  handling  necessary  in  pulling  and  setting.  On  the  other 
hand  a  chance  infection  from  stems  in  the  field  is  not  so  likely 
to  spread  the  trouble  by  contact. 

When  beds  are  apt  to  produce  calico  plants  and  sterilization 
is  impossible  it  is  well  to  make  new  beds. 

See  also  conclusions  of  G.  H.  Chapman  (86),  and  especial- 
ly of  Allard  (91). 


56  Connecticut  Experiment  Stahon  Bulletin  180. 

Rust.  This  shows  as  reddish  brown  spots  on  the  leaf,  con- 
sidered by  some  as  a  symptom  of  cahco  and  by  others  as  not 
connected  with  that  trouble.  In  our  observation  it  occurs  on 
calico  plants  as  a  result  of  the  weakened  condition  of  the 
plant  and  is  thus  indirectly  associated. 

String  Leaves.  "Shoe  String"  Leaf.  Very  narrow  de- 
formed leaves,  sometimes  leaving  little  besides  the  midrib,  are 
frequently  associated  with  calico. 


c.     Diseases  of  Tobacco  in  the  Curing  Barn. 

Pole=Burn  of  Tobacco.  A  preliminary  report  on  this 
trouble  is  given  in  Rept.  1891  p.  168  which  suggests  that  it  is 
caused  primarily  by  the  growth  if  a  fungus  on  the  leaf  which 
by  destroying  the  tissue  gives  access  to  bacteria  which  induce 
decay.     See  page  33. 

The  writer.  Dr.  Sturgis,  recommends  horizontal  ventilation 
and  discusses  the  process  and  methods  of  curing  by  the 
use  of  artificial  heat.     (44-51-52-60  ). 

Frost  Fungus.  This  appears  on  the  leaf-stems  in  the  bam, 
at  first  in  pure  white  patches  looking  like  hoar  frost  or  velvet. 
The  patches  spread  to  the  leaf  veins,  destroy  the  tissue  and 
decay  follows.  The  white  patches  are  the  fruiting  stage  of 
a  fungus,  Botryosporium  pulchrum,  Cda.  Its  spores  are 
developed  and  carried  over  to  the  next  year  in  the  stalks  and 
waste  leaves  left  in  the  barn. 

Preventive.  This  mold  may  be  prevented  by  perfect 
cleanliness  in  the  barn  from  which  all  stalks  and  waste  should 
be  at  once  removed.  In  extreme  cases  the  f^oor  should  be 
covered  with  fresh  earth  or  sprinkled  with  a  mixture  of  slaked 
lime  and  sulphur,  or  the  barn  fumigated. 

d.    Diseases  of  Tobacco  in  the  Case. 

Black  Spot  or  Canker.  (11).  This  appears  as  dark  colored 
patches,  often  extending  through  several  overlapping  "hands" 


Tobacco  Diseases.  57 

of  leaf,  destroying  the  tissue.  It  is  probably  a  fungous  trouble, 
Sterigmatocysiis  niger,  but  what  conditions  induce  the  disease 
is  not  known  nor  any  preventive. 

Probably  too  "high  case"  in  packing  associated  with  con- 
tinued low  temperature  has  much  to  do  with  its  appearance 
(66). 

Musty  Tobacco.  Is  another  disease  of  packed  tobacco 
caused  either  by  fungus  or  bacterial  trouble  acquired  by  hand- 
ling the  leaf  in  an  unclean  way  in  the  barn  or  packing  house. 
(66). 


58  Connecticut  Experiment  Station  Bulletin  180. 


BIBLIOGRAPHY  OF  PUBLICATIONS  RELATING  TO 

TOBACCO  OF  WRAPPER  LEAF  TYPE 

GROWN  IN  NEW  ENGLAND. 

This  list  is  probably  not  complete  but  I  believe  includes  most 
of  the  important  papers  on  this  subject,  which  have  been 
published  by  the  United  States  Department  of  Agriculture  and 
the  Agricultural  Stations,  within  the  last  twenty-five  years 

For  ready  reference,  the  following  key  to  subjects  may  be 
helpful : 


SUBJECTS  OF  PUBLICATIONS  IN  THE  BIBLIOGRAPHY 

Analyses  of  leaf,  26,  41,  42,  49,  53,  84,  87. 

"  stalks,  43,  50. 
Artificial  heat  in  curing.  29,  31,  40,  46,  56. 
Breeding  and  selection,  5,  24,  67,  68,  69,  80,  81,  82,  89. 
Burning  quality,  tests  of,  25.  26,  28. 
Calico  of  tobacco,  19,  55,  65,  66,  86,  91. 
Cigar  types  of  tobacco,  23,  32. 
Culture,  curing,  marketing,  1,  2,  21,  23,  37,  46. 
Curing,  7,  29,  31,  36,  40,  56,  61. 
Diseases,  bibliography  of,  54,  63. 

"  various,  65,  66,  68,  71,  73. 

Enzymes  in  tobacco,  12,  88. 
Fermentation,  7,  8,  13,  18,  56,  57,  61. 

"  chemical  changes  during,  49. 

Fertilizer  experiments,  47,  48,  84,  85,  87. 
Fertilizers,  effect  on  composition  of  leaf,  53. 
Grain  of  tobacco,  59. 
Industry  4,  35. 


Bibliography  of  Wrapper  Tobacco.  59 

Injury  due  to  malnutrition  or  over  fertilization,  70. 
Insects  injuring  tobacco,  39,  70,  75. 
Leaf  surface  of,  62. 
Mosaic  disease  (see  calico). 
Nicotine  in  tobacco,  28. 
Pole  burn,  44,  51,  52,  60. 
Root  rot,   Thielavia,  30,  33,  72,  74,  83. 
Seed,  preparation  of,  77. 
"     varieties  of,  21,  23. 
Seed  beds,  management,  80. 
Shade  growing,  13,  16,  17,  27,  58,  64,  76. 
Soils,  3,  10,  14,  15,  38. 
Stem  rot,  45. 

Vetch  as  a  cover  crop,  34,  78. 
Wilt  disease,  22. 

BIBLIOGRAPHY. 

General  Treatises: 

1.  Report  on  the  Culture  and  Curing  of  Tobacco  in  the  United 

States.    J.    B.    Killebrew.    Tenth    Census    of    the 
United  States  (1880).  Vol  III,  pp.  164. 

2.  Tobacco     Leaf:  Its  Culture  and  Cure,  Marketing  and  Man- 

ufacture.   Killebrew  &  Myrick,  pp.  494.  iigs.   137. 
Orange  Judd  Co.,  1897. 

Publications  OF  the  United  States  Department  of  Agriculture: 
Year  Book. 

3.  1894.    Tobacco    Soils   of   .Connecticut     (and    Pennsylvania) 

Milton  Whitney,  pp.  143-151. 

4.  1899.    Growth  of  the  Tobacco  Industry.    Milton  Whitney  and 

Marcus  L.  Floyd,  pp.  429-440  pis.  XXIX-XXXV. 

5.  1904.    The  Improvement  of  Tobacco  by  Breeding  and  Selec- 

tion.   A.  D.  Shamel,  pp.  435-452,  pis.  LIX-LXIV. 

6.  1906.    New  Tobacco  Varieties.    A.   D.   Shamel,  pp.  387-404, 

pis.  XXXIII-XXXVI,  figs.   11-14. 

Report. 

7.  59.     Curing  and    Fermentation    of    Cigar    Leaf    Tobacco. 

Oscar  Loew,  pp.  34. 


60  Connecticut  Experiment  Station  Bulletin  180. 

8.  60.     Temperature  Changes  in  Fermenting  Piles  of  Cigar- 

Leaf   Tobacco.     Milton   Whitnej'  and   Thomas   H. 
Means,  pp.  28,  figs.  7. 

9.  63.     The  Work   of   the   Agricultural    Experiment    Stations 

on  Tobacco.     (Abstracted  by)  J.  I.  Schulte,  pp.  48. 

10.  64.     Field  Operations,  Division  of  Soils,  1899.     Soil  Survey 

in   the   Connecticut   Valley.     Clarence   W.    Dorsey 
and  J.  A.  Bonsteel,  pp.  124-140,  pis.  XXI-XXVII. 

11.  65.     Physiological    Studies    of    Connecticut    Leaf    Tobacco. 

Oscar  Loew,  pp.  57. 

12.  68.     Catalase,  A  New  Enzym  of  General  Occurreuce,  with 

Special   Reference   to   the   Tobacco   Plant.     Oscar 
Loew,  pp.  47. 

Divisiofi  of  Soils. 

13.  Rept.     1900.     Tobacco  Experiments  Conducted  by  the  Divis- 

ion of  Soils  in  Cooperation  with  the  Con- 
necticut Experiment  Station.  Marcus  L. 
Floyd,  pp.  462-469. 

14.  1903.     Soil  Survey  of  the  Connecticut  Valley.     Elmer 

O.  Fippin,  pp.  39-61. 

15.  Bui.  11.     Tobacco  Soils  of  the  United  States:  A  Prelim- 

inary Report  upon  the  Soils  of  the  Princi- 
pal Tobacco  Districts.  Milton  Whitney,  pp. 
47,  pis.  XIII. 

16.  20.     Growing  Sumatra  Tobacco  under  Shade  in  the 

Connecticut  Valley.  Milton  'VN'^hitney,  pp.  31, 
pis.  VII,  figs.  2. 

17.  39.     Effects  of   Shading  on   Soil   Conditions.     J.   B. 

Stewart,  pp.  19,  pis.  IV,  figs.  7. 

18.  Circ.  5.     Bulk    Fermentation    of    Connecticut    Tobacco. 

M.  L.  Floyd,  pp.  10. 

Bureau  of  Plant  Industry. 

19.  Bui.  18.     Observations  on  the  Mosaic  Disease  of  Tobacco. 

A.  F.  Woods,  pp.  24,  pis.  VI. 

20.  22.     Injurious    Effects    of     Premature     Pollination. 

(Contains  Observations  on  Tobacco  Blos- 
soms.)    C.  P.  Hartley,  pp.  39,  pis.  IV,  fig  1. 

21.  25.     Miscellaneous  Papers.     Part  IV.     Congression- 

al Seed  and  Plant  Distribution  Circulars. 
Plan  of  Distributing  Tobacco  Seed  and  Cul- 
tural Directions  for  the  Different  Types  of 
Tobacco  Distributed,  pp.  70-82. 


Bibliography  of  Wrapper  Tobacco.  61 

22.  51.     Miscellaneous  Papers.     1.  The  Wilt  Disease  of 

Tobacco  and  its  Control.  R.  E.  B.  McKen- 
ney,  pp.  5-8,  fig  1. 

23.  91.     Varieties  o£  Tobacco  Seed  Distributed  in  1905- 

'06  with  Cultural  Directions.  A.  D.  Shame! 
and  W.  W.  Cobey,  pp.  38,  pis.  IX. 

24.  96.     Tobacco  Breeding.     A.  D.  Shamel  and  W.  W. 

Cobey,  pp.  67,  pis.  X,  figs.  14. 

25.  100.     Pt.  IV.     Methods  of  Testing  the  Burning  Qual- 

ity of  Cigar  Tobacco.  W.  W.  Garner,  pp. 
14,  pis.  II,  figs.  3. 

26.  105.     The  relation  of  the  Composition  of  the  Leaf  to 

the  Burning  Qualities  of  Tobacco.  W.  W. 
Garner,  pp.  27. 

2".  138.    The    Production    of    Cigar-Wrapper    Tobacco 

under  shade  in  the  Connecticut  Valley.  J.  B. 
Stewart,  pp.  31,  pis.  V. 

28.  141.     Miscellaneous    Papers.       1.     The    Relation    of 

Nicotine  to  the  Burning  Quality  of  Tobacco. 
W.  W.  Gamer,  pp.  16. 

29.  143.     Principles   and   Practical    Methods    of    Curing 

Tobacco.  W.  W.  Gamer,  pp.  54,  figs.  10 

30.  158.     The  Root-Rot  of  Tobacco  Caused  by  Thielavia 

basicola.     W.  W.  Gilbert,  pp.  55,  pis.  V. 

31.  241.     The  Use   of  Artificial   Heat  in  Curing   Cigar- 

Leaf  Tobacco.    W.  W.  Garner,  pp.  25,  figs.  4. 

32.  244.    The   Export   and   Manufacturing   Tobaccos   of 

the  United  States,  with  Brief  Reference  to 
the  Cigar  Types.  E.  H.  Mathewson,  pp.  100, 
maps  II,  figs.  37. 

33.  Circ.  7.     The    Field    Treatment    of    Tobacco    Root-Rot 

L.  J.  Briggs,  pp.  8. 

34.  15.     The  Fertilizing  Value  of  Hairy  Vetch  for  Con- 

necticut Tobacco  Fields.  T.  R.  Robinson, 
pp.  5. 

35.  48.     The   Present   Status  of  the  Tobacco  Industry. 

(1910)  W.  W.  Gamer,  pp.  13. 

Farmers'  Bulletin. 

36.  60.     Methods  of  Curing  Tobacco.     Milton  Whitney. 

pp,   16. 


62  Connecticut  Experiment  Station  Bulletin  180. 

37.  82.     The    Culture    of   Tobacco.     O.    C.    Butterweck, 

pp.  24. 

38.  83.     Tobacco  Soils.     Milton  Whitney,  pp.  23,    fig.  1. 

39.  120.     The    Principal    Insects    Aflfecting   the    Tobacco 

Plant.     L.  O.  Howard,  pp.  32,  figs.  25. 

40.  523.     Tobacco  Curing.     W.  W.  Garner,  pp  24.  figs.  4. 
Connecticut  State  Board  of  Agriculture. 

41.  Rept.     1872.     Tobacco.     S.  W.  Johnson,  pp.  384-416. 
Connecticut  Agricultural  Experiment  Station. 

42.  Rept.     1884.     Analyses   of   Tobacco    Leaf.     E.     H,    Jenkins, 

pp.  96-104. 

43.  Tobacco  Stalks.     E.  H.  Jenkins,  pp.   104-106. 

44.  1891.     Preliminary   Report   on   the    So-Called    "Pole- 

Burn"  of  Tobacco..    W.  C.  Sturgis,  pp.  168- 
184,  figs.  2. 

45.  Stem-Rot.    W.  C.  Sturgis,  pp.  184-186. 

46.  Notes    on    the    Curing    of    Havana    Seed-Lea f 

Tobacco  by  Artificial  Heat  (Snow  System). 
E.  H.  Jenkins,  pp.  187-195. 

47.  1892.     Experiments  in  Growing  Tobacco  with  Differ- 

ent Fertilizers.     E.  H.  Jenkins,  pp.  1-24. 
See  also  Repts.  1893,  pp.  112-144 :  1894,  pn.  254- 
.   284:   1895,  pp.   128-156:    1896,    pp.    285-321: 

1897,   pp.   223-256.     Resume   of   Five   Years' 

Work,  pp.  243-256. 

48.  Formulas  for  Tobacco.  E.  H.  Jenkins,  pp.  24-27 

49.  Chemical  Changes  in  Tobacco  During  Fermen- 

tation.    E.  H.  Jenkins,  pp.  28-31. 

50.  Analyses    of    Tobacco    Stalks    When    Cut    and 

after  Curing.    E.  H.  Jenkins,  pp.  31-34. 

51.  1893.     Tobacco    (Discussion    of    Conditions    Influenc- 

ing Pole-Burn).     W.  C.  Sturgis,  pp.  82,  83. 

52.  Further  Notes  on  the  Cause  of  "Pole-Sweat" 

and  "Stem-Rot"  of  Tobacco.     W.  C.  Sturgis 
pp.  84,  85. 

53.  1896.     The  Effects  of  Fertilizers  on  the  Composition 

of   Wrapper-Leaf   Tobacco.     E.    H.   Jenkins, 
pp.  322-333. 

54.  1897.     Bibliography  of  Certain  Publications  on  Tobac- 

co Diseases.     W.  C.  Sturgis,  p.  216. 
See  also  Rept.  1900,  pp.  289,  290. 


Bibliography  of  Wrapper  Tobacco.  63 

55.  1898.    Preliminary  Notes  on  Two  Diseases  of  Tobacco 

("Calico"  and  "Spot").    W.   C.   Sturgis  pp. 
242-260. 

56.  Experiments  in  Curing  and  Fermenting  Tobac- 

co.   E.  H.  Jenkins,  pp.  297-301. 

57.  The  Fermentation  of  Tobacco  in  Bulk.     E.  H. 

Jenkins,  pp.  302-306. 
See  also  Rept.  1901,  p.  306. 

58.  1899.    On  the  Effects,   on   Tobacco,  of   Shading  and 

the  Application  of  Lime.    W.  C.  Sturgis,  pp. 
252-261. 

59.  On  the  So-Called  "Grain"  of  Wrapper  Tobacco. 

W.  C.  Sturgis,  pp.  262-264,  pi.  II. 

60.  •  Further  Notes  on  the  Pole-Bum  of  Tobacco. 

W.  C.  Sturgis,  pp.  265-269. 

61.  Experiments   in    Curing    and    in    Fermenting 

Wrapper-Leaf  Tobacco.    E.  H.  Jenkins,  pp. 
286-297. 

62.  The  Area    of  Leaf    Surface    on    the    Topped 

Tobacco  Plant.    E.  H.  Jenkins,  p.  297. 

63.  1900.     Bibliography    of    Tobacco     Diseases.    W.     C. 

Sturgis,  pp.  289,290. 

64.  Can   Wrapper-Leaf    Tobacco   of   the   Sumatra 

Type  be  raised  in  Connecticut?     E.  H.  Jen- 
kins, pp.  322-329,  pi.  VII. 
See  also  Repts.  1901,  pp.  295-312 ;  1902,  pp.  446, 
447. 

65.  1903.     Tobacco  Diseases  (Very  Brief  Notes  on  Frost 

Fungus,    Seed-Bed    Rot,    Pole-Bum,    Calico, 
Rust  and  Spot).    G.  P.  Clinton,  pp.  362,363. 

66.  1904.    Tobacco  Diseases  (Very  Brief  Notes  on  Canker 

and  Must).     G.  P.  Clinton,  p.  328. 

67.  Experiments    in     Breeding    Tobacco.       E.    H. 

Jenkins,  pp.  449-452,  pi.  I. 

68.  1905.     Fungous   Disease   of  Tobacco.     G.   P.   Clinton, 

pp.  276,  277. 

69.  Tobacco  Breeding  Experiments  in  Connecticut. 

A.    D.    Shamel,    pp.    331-342,    pis.     XXVI- 
XXVIII,  fig.  10. 

70.  1906.     Insect  Enemies  of  the  Tobacco  Crop  in  Con- 

necticut.   W.  E.    Britton,    pp.    263-279,    pis. 
XII-XVI,    figs.   8-12. 


64  ■  Connecticut  Experiment  Station  Bulletin  180. 

71.  Tobacco    Diseases    (Brief   Notes    on    Bed-Rot, 

Canker,  Damping  Off,  Root-Rot,  Stem-Rot). 
G.   P.    Clinton,   pp.   324-329,   pis.    XIX-XXI. 

72.  Root-Rot   of  Tobacco.     Thielavia  basicola.     G. 

P.   Clinton,  pp.  342-368,  pis.   XXIX-XXXII. 

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76.  Bui.         137.     Can   Wrapper   Leaf   Tobacco    of   the    Sumatra 

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Bibliography  of  Wrapper  Tobacco.  65- 

Addenda. 

«8.  Science.  New  Sen  Vol.  XI,  No.  262,  1900.  Inhibiting  Action 
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17-19. 

89.  Proceedings    American    Breeders    Association,    Vol.    VII. 

What  Seed  Selection  and  Breeding  have  done 
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90.  Science.     New  Ser.  Vol.  XXXIX,  No.  992,   1914.     Mutation 

in  Tobacco.  H.  K.  Haj'es  and  E.  G.  Bein- 
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91.  Bui.  U.  S.  Dep't  Ag.  No.  40.     The  Mosaic  Disease  of  Tobacco. 

H.  A.  Allard,  pp.  33.  pis.  VII. 
See   also    Science.     New    Ser.   Vol.   XXXVI. 
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92.  Journal    of    Heredity,    Vol.    V,    No.    1.       Variation    in 

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